From the Dawg Pound

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Marshall escapes Saluki Football, 31-28. The Southern Illinois University Salukis Football Team missed a golden opportunity to upset Football Bowl Subdivision team Marshall Sat. Sept. 5 at Huntington, W. Va. As the Thundering survived a 14-7 halftime deficit to eventually beat SIU, 31-28. Quarterback Chris Dieker scrambled for a touchdown and threw a TD pass to Marc Cheatham to give the Dawgs a 14-7 halftime lead.

The Herd came out thundering, however, in the second half and scored in just 90 seconds to tie the game at 14-14. An SIU fumble gave the ball right back to Marshall and Terrel Edwards scored on an 11-yard run to take a 21-14 lead. Then to add insult to injury, SIU gave the ball back to Marshall on after a three-and-out situation and the Herd scored again on a 59-yard drive to extend their lead to, 28-14.

Trailing by 14 points the Dawgs never gave up and mounted a 66-yard drive in eight plays and scored on a Chris Dieker pass to John Goode that cit the lead to, 28-21 late in the third period.

Marshal scored 3-points on a field goal to lead, 31-21, but SIU still wasn't done. Trailing 31-21 the Dawgs got the ball back with 3:35 remaining in the game and mounted a 91-yard drive and scored again on a Chris Dieker 5-yard scramble to bring SIU within 3 points, 31-28.

SIU failed to recover a Kyle Dougherty onside kick and Marshall ran down the clock to 30 seconds before handing the ball back to the Salukis for one final attempt to take the lead. Marshall forced Dieker to intentionally down the ball on his first pass attempt. With just seconds left to play, Dieker attempted a long pass to Jeff Evans which was deflected and time ran out. Marshall escaped the Dawgs bite with a 31-28 win in front of 24,012 home fans.

Southern has a bye week Sat. Sept. 12 and will host their home opener Sat. Sept. 19 when Southwest Baptist comes to McAndrew Stadium for a 6 PM kickoff.

Hawgs and Dawgs Night at McAndrew Stadium Sat. Sept. 19. SIU will host Southwest Baptist at McAndrew Stadium Sat. Sept. 19 and it will be "Hawgs and Dawgs Night". For only $20.00, all motorcycle riders can receive a game ticket, a food coupon, a commorative t-shirt and the opportunity to ride around McAndrew Stadium before and during halftime of the game. It is the 6th Annual event and it will mark the final ride in McAndrew Stadium before the move to the new stadium next year. To register, download an order form at HYPERLINK "http://www.SIUSalukis.com" www.SIUSalukis.com.

Saluki Volleyball wins Stetson Invitational; Improves to 7-0 for season. The SIU Lady Salukis Volleyball Team beat Stetson, Florida A&M and then Stetson again to secure the tournament victory Fri. and Sat. Sept. 4&5 at DE LAND, Fla. The Dawgs swept the Stetson hatters, 25-21, 25-17 and 25-12 to take the lead on the first day of the tournament Fri. Sept. 4.

Jennifer Berwanger had her third double-double in four matches with a match-high 14 kills and 15 digs. Rachel Brown and Chandra Roberson also had great efforts for SIU as the Salukis improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2002.

Sat. Sept. 5 SIU came from behind to beat Florida A&M, 20-25, 21-25, 25-15, 25-17and 15-12. Against Stetson in the second match SIU won, 25-13, 25-14 and 25-16.

Jennifer Berwanger led the way hitting .419 with 21 kills and 13 digs for her fourth double-double in five matches. Chandra Roberson added 17 kills and two solo and five block assists hitting a team-high .438. Rachel Brown recorded her second career double-double with 46 kills and 12 digs.

The 7-0 start for the 2009 Salukis is the best start in SIU history. The Salukis host the Saluki Invitational this weekend Sept. 11-12. It will be the 30th Invitational. This year the event is hosted by the Hampton Inn. SIU faces UAB Fri. Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. and Murray State and Valparaiso Sat. Sept. 12 at 12 noon and 7 p.m.

Berwanger named Prairie Farms/MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week. SIU's Jennifer Berwanger was named the Missouri Valley/ Prairie Farms Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Week for Aug. 24-30. Berwanger is an outside hitter for SIU and carries a 3.86 GPA in Therapeutic Recreation and Physical Therapy. She averaged 4.29 kills and 3.36 digs for the Salukis per game against Northern Illinois, Illinois-Chicago and Western Illinois last week. She further collected 17 kills and a match-high 20 digs vs. Northern Illinois. Against Western Illinois Berwanger had 18 kills and 17 digs.

SIU's Jordan and Ravanesi are MVFC Players of the Week. SIU football players Brandin Jordan and Scott Ravanesi have been named Missouri Valley Football Conference Players of the Week as announced Sunday Sept. 6. Jordan had a game-high 12 tackles against Marshall with one sack and another game-high two tackles for a loss. He had a major hand in forcing Marshall turnovers and fumbles and caused an interception.

Scott Ravanesi averaged 45.r yards per punt on his four attempts against Marshall. His long punt on the day went for 50 yards and SIU netted 41.5 yards on his punts.

Women's Basketball to host Coach's Clinic October 24. The SIU Women's basketball coaches and staff will host a clinic Sat. Oct. 24 at the SIU Arena from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. Coaches of all levels are invited to attend at no cost. This is a tremendous opportunity to meet the new SIU coaches and share ideas for the upcoming season. SIU Women's Head Coach, Missy Tiber, will be a keynote speaker along with Chris Lowery, SIU Men' basketball Coach. There will also be several other speakers. The clinic is FREE but coaches are asked to RSVP by Oct. 23 so that an adequate number of booklets can be printed. For more information call Tanya Bauer in the Women's basketball Office at 618-453-5475 or e-mail at tbauer@siu.edu.

Saluki Men's Basketball season tickets now on sale. Season tickets are now on sale for the 2009-2010 Men's basketball season at SIU. Adult tickets start at $150.00 with discounts for youth. The SIU home schedule features 17 games this season. SIU is offering a two-month pay plan for season-ticket holders. This option can be enacted by calling 618-453-2000. The SIU non-conference home schedule features Western Kentucky, UIC and UT-Martin.