EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE volleyball kicks off the 2025 season at the Bellarmine Tournament. The Cougars will take on Miami (Ohio) and Indiana State on August 29, followed by a match up with host Bellarmine on August 30.
The Cougars have played Miami once before, earning a 3-1 win during the 2023 season. Against Indiana State, SIUE is 3-5 overall, with their last meeting occurring in 2014- a 3-1 win for SIUE. Against Bellarmine, the Cougars secured a 3-2 victory last season at the Cougar classic and currently hold a commanding 21-1 advantage in the all-time series.
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 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: Kendal Paulus and her staff welcome four transfers. Elliott joins the Cougars after two season with SIU Carbondale, Ivester comes from UNO, 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. Also recognized was senior
Bree Schreimann to the OVC watch list. Last season Schreimann appeared in 104 sets over 27 matches, averaging 1.62 kills per set and 74 total blocks.
AT THE HELM:
Kendall Paulus enters her ninth season in charge of the Cougars, owning an all-time record of 100-120. 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.
