Volleyball preview: SIUE faces Tennessee State on Saturday

Nov 3, 2017 11:54 AM

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vs. Tennessee State
7-20, 3-10 OVC
11/4, 12 pm CT

SCOUTING TENNESSEE STATE: The Tigers broke a seven-match losing skid Tuesday with a three-set upset over cross-town rival Belmont. Julia Pierson leads TSU with 2.97 kills per set. Setter Samantha Beltran is third in the OVC in assists per set (8.03).

SERIES RECORD: SIUE won last season's meeting in three sets at the Vadalabene Center. Tennessee State leads the series 5-3.

CAREER LADDER:Katie Shashack moved up to third on the all-time digs list after recording 22 in the three-set win over Eastern Illinois.

CAREER RANKINGS

Katie Shashack: Digs 3rd/1,468

Ashley Witt: Attack attempts 4th/3,096

Katie Shashack: Digs per set 6th/3.51

Samantha Knight: Assists 8th/1,195

Ashley Witt: Kills 8th/1,120

Samantha Knight: Assists per set 8th/5.56

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Carley Ramich: Block assists 9th/256

Ashley Witt: Points 10th/1,259.0

Katie Shashack: Assists per set 10th/0.91

GOING FIVE: SIUE has not lost an OVC match in less than five sets since Oct. 31, 2015, when SEMO defeated the Cougars in three sets.

OVER .700: The Cougars now have had two single-match offensive performances this season of .700 or better with 10 or more kills. Middle blocker Taylor Joens hit .722 against Morehead State (13-0-18). Outside hitter Ashley Witt hit .706 (12-0-17) against Tennessee Tech.

THIRD SET: SIUE is 16-0 this season when winning the third set.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES:Jackie Scott recorded her eighth double-double of the season Wednesday with a 10-kill, 11-dig outing against Eastern Illinois. Samantha Knight leads the team in double-doubles with 13 followed by Scott's eight, Mallory Nicholson's seven and one each from Taylor Joens and Katie Shashack.

NCAA TOP 100 RANKINGS (AS OF 10/30)

Hitting Percentage: Taylor Joens 55th/.369

Service Aces: Samantha Knight 44th/35

Aces Per Set: Samantha Knight 86th/0.37

Total Digs: Katie Shashack 96th/401

Points: Taylor Joens 99th/369.0

ACTING HEAD COACH KENDALL PAULUS: This is Coach Paulus' first season as head coach and seventh season at SIUE, having previously worked as an assistant coach. The most wins by a first-year head coach is 22 by Joe Fisher during the 1999 season.