CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southeastern Louisiana split a pair of volleyball matches Friday, succumbing to a late rally by Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, 25-16, 15-25, 25-21, 20-25, 15-12, and dominating Alabama A&M, 25-8, 25-21, 25-18, in day-one action at the Saluki Bash.
 
In the tournament's opening match, the Lady Lions recorded an attack percentage better than .200 in three of the five sets but it was not enough to overcome a late rally by SIUE (3-1) in the fifth and deciding set.
 
Southeastern (2-4) dominated its second match of the day, sweeping past the Bulldogs (3-2) in straight sets. The Lady Lions recorded a season-best .360 attack percentage despite Alabama A&M posting 10 team blocks. With the victory, Southeastern equaled last season's win total.
 
SIUE 3, SLU 2
Karlee Wilkerson, a sophomore from Springfield, Louisiana, led the Lady Lions with 14 kills. Sam Gomez added another 11 to Southeastern's offensive attack.
 
For the second time in as many matches, Baylee Laskoskie turned in a double-double with 24 assists and 10 digs. Laskoskie, Caroline Golden, a junior from Mandeville, Louisiana, and Alexis Pratt served up a pair of aces each.
 
Pratt (15) and Golden (12) also posted double-digit dig totals. Gomez, a junior from Mandeville, had a hand in four of the Lady Lions' seven blocks. Wilkerson contributed a pair of solo blocks.
 
SLU 3, AAMU 0
Golden recorded her first double-double of the season, contributing a match-high 11 kills, 14 digs and five service aces. Wilkerson also posted 11 kills to aid the Lady Lions.
 
Ariana Hebert, a freshman from Lafayette, Louisiana, handed out a team-leading 22 assists and Laskoskie chipped in another 18 helpers.
 
Jolie Hidalgo contributed 11 digs to the defensive effort, marking the second time this season the freshman has recorded double-digit digs.
 
UP NEXT
Southeastern wraps up its participation in the Saluki Bash against host Southern Illinois at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Live stats are available for every match in the four-team, round-robin event. Streaming video of all three Southern Illinois matches, including Southeastern's final tournament appearance, is available on ESPN+. Links for stats and video can be found on the volleyball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
 
DIGGIN' IT CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the Southeastern volleyball program are encouraged to join the Diggin' It Club. Lion volleyball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the Diggin' It Club and S Club (volleyball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern volleyball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Lady Lions Volleyball, follow @SLU_VBall or @JWhiteSLU on Twitter, @Southeastern_vb on Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.