Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Game One Box | Game Two Box
 
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Southeast Missouri (1-1) volleyball team opened the 2014 campaign Friday at day one of the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic hosted by Saint Louis University. The Redhawks split at day one of the tournament as they defeated Memphis (1-1), 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-23, 25-16) but fell to Alabama (2-0) by the same score (25-19, 11-25, 11-25, 14-25).

"I am very proud of our first day. You never know what to expect with a young team," said head coach Julie Yankus. "We came out strong against Memphis and we had a lot of young players contributing. They came out confidently and put it all out on the floor. We let that momentum ride into the first set against Alabama but couldn't keep it together in the end." 
 
Southeast Missouri 3, Memphis 1
Sophomore Madalyn Werths was sharp throughout the match as she tallied a career-high 10 kills. Senior Meredith Stranges tied a Chaifetz Arena record for service aces with five in the match.

"Kat and Maddie spent a lot of time this summer working on their setter-hitter connection. Maddie's fiery personality reflected in her hitting today and the opposing defense couldn't stop her. She didn't play timid for a second." 
 
The Redhawks took set one in dominating fashion as they took the set, 25-20. Southeast never trailed in the set. Werths came out of the gate hot as she tallied five of her 10 kills in the opening stanza while hitting .364.
 
Memphis took a well-fought set two by a score of 25-21. Southeast jumped out to a 4-0 lead but Memphis put up five-straight to take their first lead in the match. The set was very back-and-forth as both teams found themselves all square at 20-20. Memphis was able to pull head to close out the set and tie up the match at one set apiece. Andrea Baylin tallied four kills in the set and hit a match-best .214. Memphis hit .310 as a team in the second set.
 
The third set proved to be closer and tighter than the second. While the score was close, it was 11 Memphis attack errors that allowed Southeast to keep up with the Tiger offense. The Redhawks prevailed in the set as they won 25-23 to regain the lead in the match.
 
The Redhawks shut down the Tigers in the fourth set thanks in part to seven Southeast service aces. Stranges tallied all five of her aces in the fourth set. The Redhawks won the match with a 25-16 set four victory.
 
Baylin was Southeast's top terminator with 12 kills. Baylin also tallied a career-best 23 digs. Werth's 10 kills accompanied a .212 hitting clip. Katarina Rotta had a career-high 31 assists to begin her sophomore campaign.
 
As a team, the Redhawks had 11.0 team blocks. Individually, freshman Nzingha Clarke had six blocks (one solo, five assisted). Preseason All-OVC selection Taylor Masterson had five blocks of her own with five kills. Freshman outside hitter Krissa Gearring also made an impact on the floor with four blocks, eight kills, and 12 digs.
 
Southeast Missouri 1, Alabama 3
The Redhawks took set one against Alabama quite handedly as they won 25-19. Gearring and Werths both registered three kills in the set. Both teams combined for seven service errors. Southeast hit a respectable .226 while Alabama hit a low .027, registering 10 kills and nine attack errors.  The set was tied at 16 all but Southeast was able to pull ahead and wrap the set to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
After a poor offensive performance in set one, Alabama began firing the offense on all cylinders the rest of the match.
 
It was all Alabama in set two as the Tide washed away the Redhawks, 25-11. Masterson added four to her kill count in the set. The team hitting clips flipped in set two as Alabama hit .455 and Southeast hit .065. The match was all square after two sets.
 
It was a similar tale in set three as Alabama dominated, 25-11, and took a 2-1 lead in the match. Southeast was able to fire the offense better but couldn't stop an Alabama offense that hit .571 with 18 kills.
 
The Crimson Tide secured the match with a 25-14 set four win. The Redhawks hit in the red as a team with a -.154 hitting clip in the set.

"We just put it together the first set. We earned it and they didn't just give it to us. We served aggressively, got them out of system, put up a couple blocks, and really just went after it. When we were in system, we could fire the offense. Unfortunately, we just fell out of that."
 
Baylin and Masterson each terminated eight balls in the match. Masterson finished with a .400 hitting percentage against her former team.
 
Alabama put up a whopping 13.5 team blocks against the Redhawks in the match.
 
In all, five Redhawks made their NCAA debuts Friday. Gearring, Clarke, Carlie Cuffle, Allie Henkelman, and Jessica McElderry all saw time on the floor. Gearring and Clarke started both matches.

"It was good to get some of the freshman in today and get some of those jitters out of the way. It was great to get them in and get them some experience against a couple of good teams. Getting them in just shows that the future is bright."
 
The Redhawks return to action Saturday at noon when they face host Saint Louis. Southeast will take on Northern Iowa at 5 p.m. in the final match of the tournament.