2008 Woodie Awards
Cougars sweep home opener
Zachary Groves
Issue date: 9/13/07 Section: Sports
SIUE volleyball was able to give its fans a victory in the home opener after sweeping Quincy University in three games Tuesday.
The Cougars battled to beat the Lady Hawks in game one, 30-28, but jumped ahead early in game two to win 30-17 and came from behind to win game three, 30-23.
Junior middle hitter Samantha Schulte led the Cougar offense with 12 kills, while junior outside hitter Emily Rahn picked up a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs on defense.
SIUE Head Coach Todd Gober said one of the Cougars' factors for success was taking advantage of Quincy's lineup shakeup during the match.
"We served very well and knocked them out of their system," Gober said. "They had a couple girls that were very effective and as soon as they moved (Quincy sophomore Megan Backs) out of the middle, that really helped us a lot."
Quincy Head Coach Keith Rubio said the Cougars indeed hit the team's soft spot after he made the changes.
"I think SIUE did a real nice job in terms of playing steady, serving tough, getting inside the system and then we aired ourselves out a bit," Rubio said.
The Lady Hawks, however, outblocked the Cougars 11-4. Several of those blocks mainly denied Rahn of several additional kills in the second game.
Gober said the team was briefly out of sync during that time.
"We were out of the system a bit, so (junior setter Mallory Clements) had to set the ball a little bit higher," Gober said. "We were (then) in system, which means we were able to set the ball a little quicker."
SIUE fell behind early in game three and at one point trailed by five points. The team then regrouped and charged to take the deciding game against the Great Lakes Valley Conference foe and improve to 2-0 in the conference.
Rahn said playing in front of family and friends on her own court can sometimes make a difference in how the team plays.
"I think it helps (that) the bigger the crowd is, the more energy we feel and we feed off the crowd," Rahn said.
The Cougars' home match against Quincy will be their only one until Friday, Sept. 21 when they host the University of Missouri-Rolla Miners. Meanwhile, the No.15-ranked team travels to Western Missouri this weekend to play Rockhurst University in Kansas City Friday and then heads down to Springfield, Mo. to take on Drury University.
Rahn said despite just one home game between road trips, the team will still play hard, regardless of the location.
"It's kind of become routine to us," Rahn said. "That's our life, we live on the road."
The Cougars battled to beat the Lady Hawks in game one, 30-28, but jumped ahead early in game two to win 30-17 and came from behind to win game three, 30-23.
Junior middle hitter Samantha Schulte led the Cougar offense with 12 kills, while junior outside hitter Emily Rahn picked up a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs on defense.
SIUE Head Coach Todd Gober said one of the Cougars' factors for success was taking advantage of Quincy's lineup shakeup during the match.
"We served very well and knocked them out of their system," Gober said. "They had a couple girls that were very effective and as soon as they moved (Quincy sophomore Megan Backs) out of the middle, that really helped us a lot."
Quincy Head Coach Keith Rubio said the Cougars indeed hit the team's soft spot after he made the changes.
"I think SIUE did a real nice job in terms of playing steady, serving tough, getting inside the system and then we aired ourselves out a bit," Rubio said.
The Lady Hawks, however, outblocked the Cougars 11-4. Several of those blocks mainly denied Rahn of several additional kills in the second game.
Gober said the team was briefly out of sync during that time.
"We were out of the system a bit, so (junior setter Mallory Clements) had to set the ball a little bit higher," Gober said. "We were (then) in system, which means we were able to set the ball a little quicker."
SIUE fell behind early in game three and at one point trailed by five points. The team then regrouped and charged to take the deciding game against the Great Lakes Valley Conference foe and improve to 2-0 in the conference.
Rahn said playing in front of family and friends on her own court can sometimes make a difference in how the team plays.
"I think it helps (that) the bigger the crowd is, the more energy we feel and we feed off the crowd," Rahn said.
The Cougars' home match against Quincy will be their only one until Friday, Sept. 21 when they host the University of Missouri-Rolla Miners. Meanwhile, the No.15-ranked team travels to Western Missouri this weekend to play Rockhurst University in Kansas City Friday and then heads down to Springfield, Mo. to take on Drury University.
Rahn said despite just one home game between road trips, the team will still play hard, regardless of the location.
"It's kind of become routine to us," Rahn said. "That's our life, we live on the road."
Be the first to comment on this story