CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois volleyball head coach Ed Allen announced the addition of two signees – 6-foot-3 middle blocker Vienna Elliott of Tuscon, Ariz., and 5-foot-10 setter Ema Stermenska from Slovakia.

Elliott played for ZONA Volleyball Club and was a four-year starter at Pusch Ridge High School, where she was named to the 2021 and 2022 Southern Arizona All-Star team. She is also the niece of legendary Arizona basketball player Sean Elliott.

“Vienna is a jumper with size and is going to be a great physical presence in the middle,” Allen said. “She needs to train and play at this speed, and is a better blocker than attacker right now, but we’re excited about her physicality and ability to load and unload.”

A member of the Slovakian National team, Stermenska helped VKP Bratislava win the Slovakian Cup during the 2022-23 season. She participated in the European Youth Summer Olympic Festival U19 in 2022, the World Championships U18 in 2021, the European Championships U17 in 2019 and 2020, and was named the best setter at the European Championship Qualification U16.

“Ema is a kid with a tremendous amount of high-level international experience, and mechanically, she is very sound,” Allen said. “She will train under and assist Anna (Jaworski) in directing the offense and has the chance to be a big-time player in our league.”

Elliott and Stermenska join a 2023 Saluki roster that returns 12 of its top 14 players off of last year’s team that finished 18-13 overall and fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference at 11-7.