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CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Southeast Missouri volleyball team held on to defeat Eastern Illinois Friday evening in five sets, 3-2 (25-20, 25-18, 18-25, 20-25, 15-12).
 
Southeast took a 2-0 lead in the match but Eastern Illinois won the third and fourth sets to tie the match. The Redhawks outlasted the Panthers in the final set to win the match.
 
Southeast improves to 10-15 overall on the season and 6-5 in Ohio Valley Conference play. EIU falls to 10-14, 4-7 OVC. Southeast sweeps the series with EIU on the season.
 
"We struggled offensively in the third and fourth sets but I'm very proud of the way we stayed composed and confident in the fifth set. Despite having a lot of young players on the floor, we looked like a veteran team in the final set. Overall, our blocking game was unstoppable, especially in the first set," said head coach Julie Yankus.
 
Southeast won set one, 25-20. The Redhawks started the set slow but a 6-0 run not only allowed Southeast to catch the Panthers, but overtake them, 13-10. The Redhawks never trailed again in the set and led as much as six points at times.
 
Southeast took an early 6-1 lead in the second set. Eastern Illinois battled the Redhawks to tie the set at 8. The set was tied a total of nine times thereafter. Tied at 18, the Redhawks used seven-straight points to take the second set, 25-18, and take a 2-0 lead in the match. At the intermission, the Redhawks already had 12 total blocks. Nzingha Clarke had seven block assists while Kelsey Keeve had five.
 
Offense was tough to come by in the next two sets for Southeast. The Redhawks hit in the red both sets, combining for 19 errors in the two sets. EIU won set three 25-18 and set four 25-20, tying the match at two sets apiece.
 
In the fifth in final set, the Redhawks took an early lead. Both teams found themselves knotted up at 9. Tied again at 11, the Redhawks used a 5-1 run to take the fifth set, 25-15, and the match, 3-2. Southeast had their highest hitting clip in the fifth set when they hit .308.
 
Offensively, Andrea Baylin and Keeve led the Redhawks. Keeve had 14 kills in the match with a .278 hitting percentage and finished with six blocks and 19 digs. Baylin had 13 kills with 18 digs, good enough for her team-leading 11^th double-double.
 
"Kelsey did a great job offensively this evening. They couldn't stop her slide attack and she played aggressively the whole match. Baylin also did a great job passing tonight and she had a lot of smart shots offensively."
 
The Redhawks finished with 16 total teams blocks in the match.
 
The Redhawks return to action Saturday at 2 p.m. at SIUE.