ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Southern Illinois Women’s Volleyball team was picked ninth in the annual coaches’ Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll, the conference announced Monday. UNI led the poll once again with 120 points and 10 of the 11 first-place votes. UIC (107), Drake and Illinois State (tied at 95) rounded out the top three.
The Salukis finished 10-19 (3-15 MVC) in 2024, placing 11th in The Valley and missing the conference tournament.
Brittany Harry takes over as the new head coach for a team returning eight players from the 2024 season: five outside hitters, two middle blockers, and one defensive specialist. Among the returners is Cecilia Bulmahn, who ranked 10th in the Missouri Valley with 4.12 digs per set and was eighth in total digs (433). She had seven aces at UIC on Oct. 12, tied for second-highest in the MVC in a single match, and tied for first in a three-set match. The mark is also tied for eighth in school history. She also posted 34 digs vs Missouri State (9/19), tied for the fourth-most in school history. Returning in the middle are sophomore Eva Krakowski and senior Larissa Seger. Krakowski put together a strong true freshman season and was named the Missouri Valley Conference’s Freshman of the Week on Sept. 16 after a season-high 17 kills (41.2%) and eight blocks (T-8th in MVC in a five-set match in 2024) in a 3-2 win at UT Martin (9/10). She would post eight blocks for a second time (T-10th in MVC in a four-set match) against SIUE (9/20). Seger is back after putting up 92 blocks, leading the Salukis and ranking ninth in the Missouri Valley at 0.88 blocks per set.
Southern will open its season on Friday, Aug. 29, when the team faces Sam Houston State at the Bearkat Invitational. First serve is scheduled for 10 a.m. CT.
