TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – A career night from Bree Spangler was not enough for Indiana State as Southern Illinois reeled off three-straight sets to win 3-1 (19-25, 25-21, 25-18, 31-29) Saturday night at the ISU Arena.  

Outside hitter Bree Spangler matched a career high with 20 kills to lead all players. The senior was responsible for 21.5 of the Sycamores' 66 points on the night as well as seven digs.

Indiana State (10-16, 4-10 MVC) came out strong, outhitting the Salukis .219 to .094 in the first set. That would be short-lived though, as the Sycamores did not hit over .102 for the remainder of the match.

SIU (20-9, 11-4 MVC) came out of the first-set break on fire, led by Andrea Estrado who recorded four of her team-high 14 kills during the frame. The Sycamores would battle in a back-and-forth set as Cassie Kawa and Sarah Peterson traded blows with the Salukis until the end when SIU reeled off three kills by Abby Barrow to secure the set win.

It was déjà vu in the second set for the Salukis following the break as they continued to outhit ISU. Spangler became a mainstay at the net and the Salukis took advantage of the predictability of the Sycamore offense, accounting for 12 blocks in the final three sets.

The Sycamores looked to push the match to five sets after leading 24-19 but SIU made its biggest rally of the night to tie the match at 24 before the two teams traded points all the way until an attacking error gave Southern a 31-29 advantage and the match.

Rachel Griffin led the Sycamores with 39 assists while Kawa was the only other ISU player to reach double-digit kills with 12 on the night. Shannon Murphy was dominant in the back row, tallying 20 digs.

Indiana State will be back in action next weekend when they hit the road to face Missouri State and Wichita State.