Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Volleyball	SIUE Volleyball SIUE Athletics

Todd Gober

October 2, 2007 No. 18 SIUE Begins Four-game Homestand          EDWARDSVILLE, ILL. -- This weekend the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville volleyball team begins the first part of an 4-game homestand.          The No. 18 Cougars, 14-5 overall and 7-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, just returned from a three-game road trip that included its first two league losses in nearly two years.          "It will be nice to be home and playing in front of our fans. Just nice to not be traveling for a while," said coach Todd Gober.          SIUE faces UW-Parkside Friday at 7 p.m. and Lewis Saturday at 3 p.m.. Both matches will be played at the Edwardsville High School Lucco-Jackson gymnasium due to the SIUE Athletics Hall of Fame banquet at the Vadalabene Center.          "Last week, we lost some momentum," said Gober. "Hopefully, starting with these two games, we can regain some of what we lost."          UW-Parkside enters the match with a record of 8-6 overall and 2-6 in GLVC play. The Rangers are in sixth place in the GLVC East division.          Cougar hitters Samantha Schulte (Kenosha, Wis), Kelsey Hubert (Freeburg), and Emily Rahn (Waukesha, Wis.) need to be prepared for a Ranger defense that is holding opponents to a .158 hitting percentage.          On Sunday, the Cougars face a Lewis team that is on a six-match winning streak. Last Saturday, Lewis rallied from behind to win three straight games and the match against Rockhurst.          The Flyers are second in the GLVC with 956 kills (16.48 per game).          "The next couple of games should allow us to focus on the things we need to," said Gober.                   -siue cougars-