Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Volleyball	SIUE Volleyball SIUE Athletics

Coach Todd Gober

November 5, 2007 NATIONAL RANKING UPDATE: SIUE Ranked No. 10 Nationally SIUE Heads To GLVC Tournament          EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville women's volleyball team will begin its Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship title run Friday in Indianapolis, Indiana.          Finishing the season with a 25-5 overall and 17-2 GLVC record, No. 10-ranked SIUE is the No. 1 seed for the West Division. The first opponent for the Cougars is Drury, the No. 4 seed from the West Division. Start time for the match is 2:30 pm. Drury earned a slot in the GLVC Tournament with a wild card berth.          "Drury is a tough first round opponent for us. This match up is indicative of how strong the GLVC is this year. Everyone is good," said Coach Todd Gober.          Sweeping through the GLVC regular season with the second-best league record of 17-2, SIUE is not taking anything for granted during this conference championship tournament. The winner of the SIUE-Drury match will face Missouri-St. Louis or Lewis, which face off at noon ET. The other side of the eight-team bracket includes Northern Kentucky vs. Rockhurst at 5 p.m. ET and host and East Division top seed Indianapolis against Southern Indiana.          The semifinals for the tournament are scheduled for Saturday at 5:00 pm and 7:30 pm. The finals are scheduled for Sunday at 2:00 pm.          With six of the eight teams posting 10-plus wins in GLVC play, the quality of competition in this year's tournament is capable of causing coaches to change approach.          "In order or us to be successful in this year's tournament we need to continue doing what we have been doing and focus on the things we can control," said Gober.          Entering into the tournament SIUE boasts one the conference's top defenses, with a opponent hitting percentage of .144 and 2.78 blocks per game.          Anchoring the Cougar defense are Samantha Schulte (Kenosha, Wis.) and Kelsey Hubert (Freeburg, Ill.). Schulte is averaging 1.32 blocks per game and Hubert is averaging 1.17. Both players are ranked in the top 10 in the GLVC.          SIUE junior setter Mallory Clements (Mt. Pulaski, Ill.) also has been a key member of the team, having twice won the league's Player of the Week honor. With her 12.09 assists and 2.09 killsper game average, Clements is one the top offensive weapons in the GLVC. GLVC Tournament at Indianapolis, Ind. Fri., November 9 G1: #3W Missouri-St. Louis vs. #2E Lewis; Noon EST G2: #4E Drury vs. #1W SIU Edwardsville; 2:30 PM EST G3: #3E Northern Kentucky vs. #2W Rockhurst; 5 PM EST G4: #4W Southern Indiana vs. #1E Indianapolis, 7:30 PM EST Sat., November 10 G5: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2; 5 PM EST G6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4; 7:30 PM EST Sun., November 11 Championship; 2 PM EST                   -siue cougars-