EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Southern Illinois is set to come to town on Friday to begin a three-match homestand for the University of Evansville volleyball team at 7 p.m.
 
The Aces are down to their final seven matches of the season, beginning on Friday evening. Evansville will play five of its final seven contests of the season at the Carson Center, including a pair next weekend against Indiana State and Illinois State.
 
Evansville saw its record fall to 12-14 and 2-9 in the MVC with a pair of losses last weekend at Drake and Creighton. In Friday’s match against the Bulldogs, UE was up 24-16 in the opening set before surrendering 10-straight points to take the loss. Drake would eventually win the match in four games.
 
On Saturday at Creighton, Brooke Maher put forth a 12-kill effort while Hannah Wilson notched 10, but the Bluejays blanked the Aces, 3-0, as Heather Thorson notched 14 kills.
 
Southern Illinois has had a tough streak of its own entering Friday’s match, falling in their last five matches. Last weekend, SIU lost a pair of hard-fought matches, falling to Creighton and Drake in five sets.
 
Jessica Whitehead leads the Saluki offensive attack with 279 kills on the season. She is followed closely by Laura Thole’s total of 264. Thole gets the job done on both sides, ranking second on the team with 247 digs.
 
Evansville continues its homestand next weekend, taking on Indiana State on Friday evening before Illinois State comes to town on Saturday.