CARBONDALE, Ill. – The University of Dayton volleyball team dropped its opening match of the 2015 Comfort Inn Saluki Invitational, 3-1 (20-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-23), to the host Southern Illinois Salukis. SIU improves to 3-1 on the season while Dayton falls to 0-4.
STATS OF THE MATCH• Dayton senior
Alaina Turner led all attackers with 19 kills and posted her third double-double of the season with 13 digs.
• In her first match of the season, sophomore
Jane Emmenecker set a match-high 45 assists and senior
Janna Krafka passed a match-high 19 digs.
• Also with double-digit kills was senior Jill Loairs with 11. Sophomore
Amber Erhahon led the Flyers at the net with four blocks to go with her seven kills.
• Southern Illinois was led by Meg Viggars with the elusive triple-double of 11 kills, 22 assists and 13 digs to go with five blocks.
• Dayton recorded 56 kills to Southern Illinois' 54 but the Salukis out-hit the Flyers, .252 to .214 for the match.
SET-BY-SET• Set One: Dayton started the match strong but Southern Illinois battled back and its 5-0 run midway through the first set gave the Salukis a 19-15 advantage. The Flyers were able to pull within two but could not overcome the deficit, falling 25-20 in set one.
• Set Two: Southern Illinois scored six of the first seven points to open the second game but Dayton evened the set at 10 points apiece on a service ace from Turner. UD pulled ahead, 15-14, on a double block and held the advantage through the end of the frame as the Flyers claimed a 25-21 win to even the match, 1-1.
• Set Three: The third frame was closely contested through the first six points for each team before SIU used a 9-3 run to open a 15-9 advantage. The Salukis led by as many as eight and held on for the 25-20 set-three win.
• Set Four: The Salukis came out swinging in the fourth set, pulling ahead 6-1 in the early going. A 5-0 Flyer run pulled UD to within one, 13-12, and the set was tied at 17-all after a SIU attack error.
UP NEXT• Dayton will play two matches on Saturday to finish out the 2015 Comfort Inn Saluki Invitational. UD will face UT Martin at 11 a.m. ET to start off the day and will square off against No. 20 Western Kentucky in the nightcap at 5:30 p.m. ET.
• Next weekend the Flyers will open the home portion of its schedule with the Dayton Invitational. The two-day event will feature Baylor, Cleveland State, Eastern Illinois and host Dayton. All matches will be played at Frericks Center and admission is free.
