Oct. 23, 2007 - In a battle of top-20 teams, the No. 16 Southern Illinois-Edwardsville Cougars held off the visiting No. 6 Bulldog volleyball team 3-2 (-20, 19-30, 21-30, -23, 15-11) Tuesday night in Edwardsville, Illinois. Junior middle hitter Allie Cherven put down a team-high 12 kills and finished with four solo blocks and six block assists for Truman (26-5), who lost for the first time since October 2nd.
Truman fell behind out of the gate, hitting .023 in game one as the Cougars grabbed a quick 1-0 lead. However, the Bulldogs turned it around and appeared to be in control after the third game, as Truman won games two and three by 11 and nine points respectively.
SIUE (21-5) bounced back to take game four, 30-23, and Truman dropped its third five-set match of the season with a 15-11 loss in game five.
The Bulldogs hit .156 on the night, and in addition to Cherven, juniors Eli Medina and Melissa Keck each finished with 10 kills. Junior Whitney Boehler tallied 25 digs, while Medina completed her double-double with 21 digs. SIUE recorded 21 more kills and 23 more digs than Truman on the night.
Five Cougars finished with double-figure kills, led by Kelsey Hubert's 14. Samantha Schulte, Emily Rahn and Sydney Winslow finished with 13 apiece, while Tiffany Turner led all players with 26 digs.
Truman comes back into South Central Region and MIAA action Friday night when the squad hosts Southwest Baptist at 7:00 p.m. The Bulldogs will then host No. 13 Augustana (S.D.) on Saturday afternoon.