Volleyball matches around the Valley on Halloween night brought some tricks and some treats to the home teams, as two road squads stole victories on the road.  Evansville and Southern Illinois spoiled Halloween for Indiana State and Illinois State, respectively, as the Purple Aces and Salukis swept the Sycamores and Redbirds.  It was the first win for Southern Illinois over Illinois State in the regular-season since 1990.  Missouri State downed Drake, 3-1, behind Calli Norman's career-high 25 kills on a .575 hitting percentage, while Wichita State bounced back from a first set pitfall to top Creighton, 3-1.  UNI tallied its 20th-straight win with a 3-0 sweep of Bradley, as the Panthers remained a perfect 12-0 in league play.

Evansville 3, Indiana State
UE (13-12, 6-6 MVC); INS (6-21, 2-11 MVC)

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - After letting Illinois State slip away on Friday, the University of Evansville volleyball team (13-12, 6-6 MVC) put Indiana State away in a dominating 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-17) fashion on Saturday night.

Senior Ginta Gabruseva posted 16 kills and two service aces in the win. Sophomore Brooke Maher collected 10 kills while junior Julie Sylvester tabbed 24 digs. Sophomore Ellen Sawin had 35 assists and three block assists.

Although the Sycamores grabbed the first point of the set, UE was able to grab a 4-2 lead that included kills from Nixon, Gabruseva and Maher. After Indiana State tied the score at five, the Aces until Indiana State forced a UE timeout with the score tied at 16. A 5-0 run that was capped of with back-to-back kills from Nixon helped the Aces take the first set 25-19.

The Sycamores got off to a fast 5-0 start in the beginning of the second contest. Three kills from Maher and service aces from Maher and Gabruseva helped the Aces quickly gain an 11-10 advantage over Indiana State. With the score tied at 11, 12 and 13, UE rallied a 5-0 run to go up 17-13. The Aces carried the momentum to a 25-17 win.

Back-to-back kills from Gabruseva put the Aces up 2-0 to start the third. After the Sycamores tied it at 3, a 4-0 run by UE put the visitors up 7-3. The Aces continued to hold the lead and got ahead as much as seven before taking the set 25-17.


Southern Illinois 3, Illinois State 0
SIU (17-7, 6-7 MVC); ILS (10-14, 5-8 MVC)

NORMAL, Ill. - The Southern Illinois volleyball team swept Illinois State Saturday night, 25-23, 25-22, 25-17, on the Redbirds home court, breaking a 36-match regular-season losing streak dating back to 1990.

The Salukis (17-7, 6-7 MVC) hit just .020 in the first set with a match-high 13 attack errors, but overcame the Redbirds (10-14, 5-8 MVC) in the closest set of the match, 25-23, in Redbird Arena.

SIU combined for just seven attack errors in the final two sets, leading the entire third set for the 25-17 set and match win.

Outside hitter Jennifer Berwanger recorded a double-double with 12 kills, 24 digs, one solo and two block assists in the win. Setter Rachael Brown recorded a match-high 38 assist and five digs.

Roberson recorded nine kills and five block assists, while Mayes added eight kills and a block assist.

The Salukis beat the Redbirds for the first time since SIU upset ILS in the 2002 MVC Tournament. SIU had not won in regular-season play since 1990 when the Salukis won on Illinois State's home court, 36 matches earlier.

With Southern's 17th win of the season, they tied last season's total, the highest since 2002.

Missouri State 3, Drake 1
MSU (17-7, 10-2 MVC); DU (18-9, 7-6 MVC)

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Missouri State sophomore Calli Norman hammered a career-high 25 kills, doing so on a .575 hitting percentage, to lead the volleyball Bears to a 25-19, 25-27, 25-21, 25-16 Missouri Valley Conference victory against Drake Saturday at Hammons Student Center.

Norman connected for kills on 10 of her first 11 swings and needed just 40 attacks to accumulate the highest kill total for an MSU player since Katie Werges had 28 against Arkansas on Nov. 16, 2004.

Norman wasn't the only Bear with a notable individual effort, as Cara Hackmann had 37 digs, tying her for the third-highest match total in school history and best for any match less than five sets. She set the school record at 46 earlier this season. Hackmann's 37 digs moved her from seventh to fourth on the MSU career list and made her the fifth player in school history to reach 500 in a season.

Melissa Gmur and Abby Padlock also set career highs with 56 assists and 16 digs, respectively, while Sara Staubach moved to 16th on the career kills list with 12 in the match. She now sits four kills away from 1,000.

The Bears got off to a fast start in the first set, committing no attack errors until the score was 12-9. MSU's first error was part of a 5-0 Drake run that brought the Bulldogs within a point at 12-11, but the Bears pulled away on the strength of a .294 hitting percentage.

The Bears were poised for a 2-0 set lead with a 24-20 advantage in the second, but Drake fought off four match points to forge a 24-24 tie. Staubach's kill gave MSU a fifth match point, but the Bulldogs won the final three to steal the set.   

DU again started quickly in the third, leading 5-0 before MSU charged back to lead 14-12. After a 16-16 tie, the Bears went on a 4-0 run and never let Drake closer than two points the rest of the way. There was no slow start in the fourth set, as MSU went up 6-2 and then used a 6-0 run to double-up Drake at 16-8 before cruising to the win.


Wichita State 3, Creighton 1
WSU (18-4, 9-3 MVC); CU (9-14, 6-7 MVC)

WICHITA, Kan. - A first set loss didn't deter the Shocks from picking up their second victory of the weekend as they bounced back with a vengeance to defeat the Creighton Bluejays on Halloween, 23-25, 25-14, 25-22, 25-11.

The rivals played each other point-for-point to open the first set, no team taking more than a two-point lead. A pair of kills from Creighton's Alicia Runge and Jessica Houts gave Creighton the 17-13 lead, the largest of the evening.

The Shockers came roaring back. Kills from senior outside hitter Emily Stockman and junior middle Sarah McGee closed the gap before senior middle Katie Niggemeyer crushed a kill to tie the set, 20-20. The Shockers continued to battle but a Shocker error and a kill by Laurel Sanford ended the set in the Jays' favor, 25-23.

WSU fell behind 3-1 before scoring six straight to regain the early momentum in set number two. The Shockers ran with the set from that point on, forcing errors on Creighton's part while picking up clutch kills when needed. A pair of blocks by McGee put the Shocks out of reach with a 22-10 lead. Niggemeyer sealed the deal with a kill to even the match at a set apiece, 25-14.

The teams returned to first-set form in third set, trading points back-and-forth and refusing to let either team build a lead. Stockman stepped up with four kills while Niggemeyer and Amanda Backes each notched clutch kills to pull ahead, 19-16. Battling back, Creighton narrowed the gap 23-22, but senior outside hitter Kim Wadsworth clinched the set with a kill, 25-22.

Taking command of the set early, the Shockers jumped out to a 5-0, forcing a Creighton timeout. The break did had little effect on the Shockers, as they settled into a groove and rocketed to a 10-1 lead. WSU continued to force errors to keep Creighton at bay and consecutive kills for Stockman gave the Shockers the 19-5 advantage. A final Creighton error finished the match, 25-11.

Stockman and Niggemeyer paced the offense, combining for 28 of the Shockers' 50 kills. Niggemeyer hit .458 on Saturday while McGee chipped in eight kills. The Shocks defense stepped up as they held the Bluejays to just a .058 hitting percentage.


Northern Iowa 3, Bradley 0
UNI (22-2, 12-0 MVC); BU 9-17, 0-12 MVC)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The University of Northern Iowa volleyball team defeated Bradley 3-0 to win its 20th straight match and remain perfect in the Missouri Valley Conference Saturday night in the McLeod Center.  The Panthers (22-2, 12-0 MVC) claimed the win by set scores of 25-18, 25-6, 25-17.

UNI hit .393 in the match while holding the Braves (9-17, 0-12) to .088 hitting on the night. Michelle Burow finished with nine kills, and Beth Discher finished with eight. Bre Payton notched 29 assists along with seven kills and nine digs. Ellie Blankenship led UNI with 17 digs. Krista DeGeest led UNI with four blocks, helping UNI to outblock the Braves, 6-3.

Trailing 6-5 in the first set, UNI rattled off five straight points to take a 10-6 lead. UNI led by at least three and as many as nine on the way to the 25-18 set win.

UNI scored nine straight in the second set, turning a 4-3 edge into a 13-3 advantage. The Panthers held Bradley to -.214 hitting in that set, while committing just one attack error to hit .450. UNI went on to claim the set, 25-6.

The Panthers used a 5-0 run early in the third set to take a 7-3 lead. UNI led the rest of the way, hitting .464 on the way to the
25-17 win.