Final Stats

Sept. 7, 2007

Contact: Greg Murphy

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois rallied from a 2-0 deficit and earned a 20-30, 32-34, 31-29, 30-28, 15-10 win over Cleveland State in day one action of the Southern Illinois Invitational at Davis Gym.

Three of CSU's four losses this season have come in five sets.

It's disappointing to lose a game like this," CSU head coach Chuck Voss said. "We need to fight through it and rebound tomorrow."

Sophomore Beth Greulich tied her career-high with 19 kills to lead the Vikings, while sophomore Liz Fazio tied Greulich for match-high honors with a season-best 19 kills

The Vikings broke open a 10-10 tie in game one with an 8-2 run to claim a 1-0 lead. In game two, CSU appeared to be in complete control as Jenni Ramminger's kill gave them a 29-26 lead. However, the Salukis scored the next four points to take a 30-29 lead only to see the Vikings storm back and score five of the final seven points and take game two. The Vikings ended it on back-to-back kills from freshman Amy Benz and sophomore Kayla Lefeld.

CSU couldn't ride that momentum to a sweep as SIU took game three, but not without a fight from the Vikings. The Salukis led 25-20, but CSU rallied to knot the score at 29-29 on a kill from sophomore Liz Fazio. However, Southern Illinois used a kill from Kelsie Laughlin and a CSU attack error to slice its deficit to 2-1 with a game three win.

SIU pushed the match to a deciding fifth game by winning a tight game four that featured 16 ties and six lead changes. In game five, the Salukis raced out to a 7-3 lead, but CSU was able to rally once again and tied the game at 8-8. The Vikings could not maintain that momentum as SIU answered with a 7-2 run of their own to complete the come-from-behind win.

Senior Mel Snyder finished with a double-double of 61 assists and 11 digs, while junior Jordan Bateman ended the match with 25 digs, the fifth time she has recorded at least 20 digs in a match this season.

Kristie Berwanger led SIU with 18 kills and 11 digs, while Marina Medic added 18 kills.

CSU will return to action with a pair of matches at the Southern Illinois Invitational on Saturday. The Vikings will play Murray State at 11:00 am before concluding the tournament with a 6:00 pm match against UMKC.