SIUE COUGARS (12-13, 8-5 OVC)
at. MOREHEAD STATE (17-6, 11-1 OVC)
NOVEMBER 6, 2025 | 5 PM
NOVEMBER 7, 2025 | 34PM
Morehead, Ky. 


WHERE WE ARE: SIUE travels to Kentucky this week for a two-match series against top-ranked Morehead State on Thursday and Friday. The Eagles lead the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) 11-1, having just dropped their first conference match of the season in a 3-0 sweep at Little Rock on Nov. 1.  

SERIES: MSU leads the all-time series 13-9. The two teams split last years meetings, with MSU winning the first game (3-2) and SIUE winning the second game (3-2). The Cougars are 6-2 at home against the Eagles but 2-10 on the road. 

TAKE FIVE: SIUE is 5-2 in five-set matches this season. Including a five-set decision against Air Force to end their six game win streak. Since 1995, the Cougars have gone 109-84 in five-set contests, including 49-48 since beginning full DI play in 2012. The 2024 squad had a program-record 11 five-set matches. 

CONFERENCE OUTLOOK: As of Nov. 5, SIUE is sixth in the OVC. The programs best regular season finish came in 2016 and 2017, when the Cougars placed second. Since joining Division 1 in 2012 SIUE has made it to the OVC tournament 10 times going 4-6, with two championship appearances in 2016 and 2013. During 2024 they fell to Lindenwood in the first round. The Cougars continue to chase their first OVC title. 

CAN YOU DIG IT: Olivia Hogan has had two games this season with 25 digs. This season she has tallied 375 total digs, good for fourth in the OVC and 77th in the NCAA. Hogan averages 3.79 digs per set this season, ranking eighth in the OVC. During her two years at SIUE she has 599 total digs and counting. 

TEAM EFFORT: The Cougars had a single-game high of 79 digs in a four-set match against UT Martin (Oct. 17). SIUE had a season-best hitting percentage of .358 against Lindenwood (Oct. 7). As a team they rank second in the OVC for team assists (1,134), also good for 44th in the NCAA. The Cougars also rank second in team kills (1,243) good for 41st in the NCAA. 

SERVES UP: Sophie Robinson ranks fifth in the OVC for aces at 33. As a team, SIUE sits fourth in the OVC and 54th nationally in aces at 158, tying a single-season high of 11 aces against TSU (Sept. 26). SIUE has out-served their opponents this year averaging 1.60aces per set. 

AT THE TOP: Junior transfer Vienna Elliot is third in the OVC in blocks per set (1.09). Earlier this season she had a career-high six block assists against Seattle (Sept. 13). She also places fourth for total blocks (88). 

COUGARS AT THE NET: Grace Nichols had a career-high hitting percentage of .565, off of 13 kills and no errors against Binghamton (Sept.19). Smith had a career-high 19 kills against Indiana State (Sept. 5), helping lead the Cougars to their first win of the season. She matched this career high against Seattle and Air Force. The Cougars have not had an athlete get 20 or more kills in a single match since 2023. 

CAREER-HIGH: Against UT Martin, there were several career-highs including Claire Jones's 15 digs, Kennedy Pikes's four solo blocks and block assists, Teagan Sullivan's 15 kills. Against Western Illinois (10/3), Robinson had a career-high of 17 kills and Sullivan had 14 kills off 33 attempts and two block assists. Nichols had a career-high 15 digs, and Kyndia Smith a new best hitting percentage of .556 against Lindenwood (10/7). 

DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Sophie Robinson had four consecutive matches with double-doubles. Her streak ended in game two against Southern Indiana. Robinson leads the team with 13 so far this season. Freshman Ally Hughes has six and Paige Bernstein has five. 

THREE FOR SIUE: The team has had eight three-set matches this season going 3-5. All three of the wins are against OVC teams. 

A NEW LOOK: The 2025 roster features 10 new additions: five freshman (Kinley Quast, Kennedy Pike, Morgan Jones, Ally Hughes, Maddie Determan) alongside one sophomore (Teagan Sullivan), three juniors (Vienna Elliott, Anika Ivester and Paige Bernstein) and one senior (Grace Nichols). 

DOUBLE TIME: Sullivan is a dual sport athlete for SIUE. During her freshman year she competed in track and field. She was recognized as OVC field athlete of the week (Jan. 25, 2025), she also recorded a PR long jump with a distance of 5.97m, good for third in the programs all-time performances. This will be her first season with the volleyball team, marking the start of her dual sport college career. 

TRANSFER TALK: Kendall Paulus and her staff welcome four transfers. Elliott joins the Cougars after two season with SIU Carbondale, Ivester comes from Omaha, Bernstein was previously at the University of Houston and Nichols is the lone interconference transfer from Western Illinois. 

PRESEASON HONORS: The OVC released its 2025 preseason volleyball poll Aug. 21, with SIUE picked to finish seventh. 

AT THE HELM: Kendall Paulus is in her ninth season in charge of the Cougars, owning an all-time record of 112-131. Paulus is SIUE's second longest tenured volleyball head coach behind Todd Gober, who coached the Cougars for 10 seasons. 

COACHING STAFF: Paulus added assistant coach Josh Comer and Graduate assistant Dante Pulphus to her coaching staff. Comer joins the Cougars after two season with McNeese. Pulphus recently graduated from Marian University 
where he received his Bachelor in Science and played men's volleyball.