CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Southern Illinois Salukis swept the Drake Bulldogs, 3-0, in a Missouri Valley Conference volleyball match on Saturday (Nov. 8) at SIU Arena.

Southern Illinois won by game scores of 25-15, 25-20 and 25-19 to improve to 13-13 on the season and 7-7 in MVC play, while the loss drops Drake to 10-15 and 2-12 in the MVC.

Sophomore Makena Schoene (Seattle, Wash.) led the Drake offense with a match-high 14 kills and added two blocks and two service aces. Schoene recorded a sterling .393 hitting percentage with just three attack errors.

The score was 5-5 in the opening set before SIU used a 7-2 scoring run to take an 11-7 lead as Drake called its first timeout. Out of the timeout, the Salukis extended their advantage to 19-12 as the Bulldogs were forced to use their final timeout. The break didn't slow Southern Illinois as it coasted to a 25-15 opening frame victory.

Drake jumped out to an early 5-1 advantage in the second set, but SIU responded with four consecutive points to even the score at 5-5. Following the scoring runs by each team the set remained close as neither team established a lead greater than three points until the Salukis held set point at 24-20 after a service by Andrea Estrada. Estrada followed with another service ace to claim the second set, 25-20, as SIU had a 2-0 lead at the break.

The third set was back-and-forth to start as the score was knotted at 11-11 as SIU called a timeout. After the break, Drake scored two quick points on back-to-back service aces by sophomore Chandelle Davidson (Gretna, Neb.) to move ahead 13-11. However, the Salukis answered with a 7-1 scoring run as the Bulldogs called timeout as they trailed 18-14. The timeout couldn't stop the momentum as SIU pulled away for the 25-19 victory to complete the sweep.

Davidson finished with 19 assists and six digs to go along with her two service aces. Freshman Kelly Shute (Dana Point, Calif.) continued her strong play in the middle for the Bulldogs as she tallied three kills and three assists.

Drake returns home for senior weekend as it will host Indiana State (Nov. 15) and Illinois State (Nov. 16). The Indiana State match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start at the Knapp Center, while the Illinois State matchup is an afternoon matinee at 2 p.m.

Seniors, Halli Meyer (Bettendorf, Iowa), Meredith Moore (Normal, Ill.) and Amanda Platte (Mount Vernon, Iowa) will be recognized prior to Sunday's match with the Redbirds.