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MARTIN, Tenn. – The Southeast Missouri volleyball team dropped a close, five-set match to UT Martin (8-9, 1-2 OVC) Tuesday evening (25-23, 23-25, 21-25, 25-18, 14-16). Southeast Missouri is now 4-12 on the season and 0-3 in Ohio Valley Conference play.
 
On paper, Southeast Missouri was the clear winner but couldn't close sets when it mattered most. The Redhawks tallied a season-high 15 blocks.
 
"Overall, we should have won that match based on the stats," said Julie Yankus. "We had the same number of kills, hit at a better percentage, had more digs and had more blocks. We just couldn't finish the sets in the end.
 
"We had some amazing stuff blocks tonight. In general, our blocking did a good job of slowing down their offense and we had some key blocks in the end of the fifth set."
 
The Redhawks won their first opening set since Sept. 12 when they swept Savannah State. Southeast had to battle for their opening stanza win as the score was tied eight times and the lead changes four times. The Skyhawks were leading 9-5 but the Redhawks battled to tie the set at 11. The remainder of the set proved neck-and-neck. Tied at 20, the Redhawks caught fire and were able to seal the first set victory, 25-23. The Skyhawks out-killed and out-hit Southeast but five UTM service errors in the set was the deciding factor.
 
The second set proved even closer as the Redhawks and Skyhawks were knotted up 12 times. The Redhawks were able to open up an 18-12 lead but saw it nearly disappear as the Skyhawks put up five-straight points to bring the score within one. Southeast was able to pull ahead once again but the Skyhawks used a 6-1 run late in the set to tie it up at 23. UTM built that run to 8-1 to swoop in and steal the set away from Southeast, 25-23, and tie the match up at one set apiece. The Redhawks put up an impressive six blocks in the set. Andrea Baylin, Nzingha Clarke, and Taylor Masterson all contributed on three blocks each.
 
It was all UT Martin in the third set as they downed Southeast, 25-21, and led the entire set. Southeast Missouri found themselves down as much as eight points on two occasions but continued to battle throughout the set. The Redhawks were able to narrow the deficit to two points late in the set but it wasn't enough to overcome the early UTM leads.
 
While set four was another close one, the Redhawks held a lead much of the set and were up as much as eight points at times. The Redhawks tied the match up at two sets apiece with the 25-18 set four victory, forcing a decisive fifth set. The Redhawks hit .268 in the set while UTM barely hit in the black, .023.
 
With the match on the line, neither team was going down quietly in the final set. UTM got out in front early, 4-1. While the Redhawks were able to tie the set four more times, they weren't able to capture a lead. Down 14-12, the Redhawks used two huge blocks to tie it at 14. This would be the closest the Redhawks would come to the Skyhawks as UTM used two final points to seal the deal, 16-14, and take the match.
 
Masterson recorded a new career-high 17 kills with six blocks on the evening. Baylin finished the evening with 13 kills, 13 digs, and five blocks. Kelsey Keeve had 11 kills and three blocks. Clarke finished with a total of six blocks. Madalyn Werths contributed with eight kills and four blocks.
 
Yankus added, "Taylor had a great night. Every time we got her the ball, she put it away. She swung aggressively in pressure situations and used smart shots when she needed them."
 
The Redhawks will return home to Houck Field House Friday at 6 p.m. when they host Tennessee Tech. The Redhawks will kick off the 2014 Dig for Life campaign. Admission to Friday evening's match will also gain fans admission to the Southeast Missouri soccer match at 6:30.