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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The Southeast Missouri volleyball team fell to in-state foe Missouri State Monday in three sets (19-25, 19-25, 21-25).
 
The Redhawks fall to 6-14 on the season and the Bears improve to 12-7.
 
"Realistically, we didn't have a lack of offense as our middles really put the ball away well. When it comes down to it, if we can't pass them the ball, we can't win sets," said head coach Julie Yankus.
 
Missouri State took an early lead on Southeast in the opening set. Five-straight points by the Bears early in the set gave them a comfy lead. The Redhawks couldn't string together enough points to begin to chip away at the Bear lead and fell by a score of 25-19. Missouri State recorded five of their eight total blocks in the first set alone.
 
The Redhawks played the Bears much closer in set two. The score was tied a total of eight times and the lead changed four times. Both teams found themselves all knotted up at 16. Three-straight points gave Missouri State just enough of a lead to help propel them to another 25-19 set win and take a 2-0 lead in the match. Taylor Masterson had five kills in the second set while hitting .571.
 
With their backs against the wall, Southeast came out ready to play in set three. This time, the score was knotted up nine times while the lead changed four times. Both teams were tied at 20 in the third set. A Redhawk attack error and a ball handling error gave the Bears enough of a lead to swipe away the third set from Southeast Missouri and sweep the match.
 
Masterson finished the day with 12 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Fellow middle blocker Nzingha Clarke contributed eight kills with a .462 hitting clip. Kelsey Keeve and Masterson each had four blocks while Clarke had three on the day.
 
"As I said, our middles did great today. Taylor had a great percentage and when we passed her a hittable ball, she almost always got a kill."
 
The Redhawks' home stand continues Friday when they host SIUE at 6:30 p.m. The Redhawks will host Eastern Illinois Saturday at 5 p.m.