Cape Girardeau, Mo - Southeast Missouri (4-10, 2-1 OVC) defeated Murray State 3-2 (22-25, 25-15, 29-27, 15-15, 15-11) in five-set thriller in the Redhawks home opener Tuesday evening at Houck Fieldhouse.

“We just kept battling the whole night and played like each point was match point, we played hard and aggressive all night,” said head coach Julie Folliard.

The Racers (2-12, 2-1 OVC) took the first set 25-22. Southeast hit a solid .237 in the frame, but failed to keep up with the Racers, who hit .250 in the frame. The first frame was a back and fourth affair, but Murray State owned the final two kills to take the set.

Southeast came out firing in the second frame enroot to a 25-15 win. The Redhawks hit a season-high .345 in the set with 13 kills and three attacking errors. The Redhawks used a five-point run in the set to jump out to an early 6-2 lead as the Redhawks never look back to tie the match at 1-1.

The third set was an edge of your seat thriller that treated fans to an impressive display of volleyball as Southeast took the set 29-27.  The Racer led 18-14, but the Redhawks battle back to cut the Racers lead to 21-20.

Southeast, then battled with the Racers as extra points were needed to decide the match. The Redhawks and Racers had chances to close out the set, but the match came down to an attack error by Murray State that gave the Redhawks the win.

The Racers regrouped and took the fourth set 25-15. Murray State hit a game-high .474 in the set. The Racers jumped out 10-3 lead scoring nine straight points as Murray State sent the match to a fifth set.

The fifth set featured each team battling for the lead. The Racer took control at 8-6, but the Redhawks battled back and tied the game at 10-10.

It was the Holly Reynolds show after that as the senior from Ozark, Mo. had three blocks in the final five points, including the game winner to give the Redhawks the 15-11 win and a 3-2 match win. 

“Holly really step up for us tonight, her play at the end of the match really propelled us to the victory,” said Folliard.

The Redhawks hit .214 on the night with a season-high 72 kills. Murray State hit .219 in the match. 

Southeast was led by Sophomore Julie Shives, who earned a triple-double on the night with 10 digs, 10 kills and season-high 46 set assists.

“Julie played very well tonight, she set the tempo for us offensively, and really was all over the court, she made a lot of things happen,” said Folliard. 

Junior Brittney Kalinoski had a team-high 12 kills. Sophomore Emily Coon added 11 kills and senior Paige Dossey added and season-high 11 kills and a career-high 20 digs. Reynolds had a career-high six blocks and added seven kills for the Redhawks.

The Redhawks will be in action Friday evening hosting Jacksonville State at 6:30 p.m. at Houck Fieldhouse.