Fayetteville, Ark. – Southeast Missouri (3-6) volleyball split their final two games of the Razorback Invitational on Saturday.

The Redhawks fell to the Arkansas Razorbacks (7-1) on Saturday morning, 3-0 (7-25, 16-25, 10-25). Later that afternoon, the Redhawks bounced back with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 25-21) win over Northwestern State (2-8).

Arkansas 3, Southeast Missouri 0
Arkansas took control early, claiming the first seven straight points. The Razorbacks never allowed the Redhawks to gather momentum, winning the opening stanza, 25-7.

Southeast Missouri battled early in the second frame, keeping Arkansas within reach. Leading 15-13, the Razorbacks strung together a seven-point run, eventually finishing the set 25-16 and taking a two-game lead in the match.

Arkansas carried their momentum into the third game, winning the set 25-10 and sweeping the Redhawks, 3-0.

Krissa Gearring led the Redhawks with eight kills in the match.

Southeast Missouri 3, Northwestern State 1
The Redhawks took advantage early, stringing multiple four point runs together. Down 21-14, the Demons began to battle back. The Redhawks regained control and fended off the late-set Demon attack, claiming the first set 25-21 and a 1-0 lead in the match.

Set two saw a back-and-forth battle throughout with 13 ties and six lead changes. With Southeast down 21-20, the Redhawks took five of the final six points, finishing the set 25-22 and taking a two-set lead in the match.

Northwestern State responded in the third frame taking the first four points. The Demons rode their early momentum, taking a lead in the set 18-12. The Redhawks battled back but were never able to overtake the Demons as they took the set 25-23.

In the fourth and final set, the Redhawks offense sparked a six-point run, taking an 18-12 lead. The Redhawks rode the momentum to finish the set 25-21 and claiming the game, 3-1.

Nzingha Clarke was Southeast's kills leaders with 11 and tallied a .296 hitting clip in the match. Madalyn Werths and Gearring each laid down nine kills. Southeast put up nine team blocks, out-blocking the Demons who had 8.5.

Head Coach Julie Yankus commented after the match, "I'm happy with the way we fought in this final match of the weekend. We played a lot more aggressively in all aspects of the game. We adjusted throughout the match as needed. We shut down their outsides so they started forcing the middles. Then we had to adjust to stop their middles and our middles did a great job of quickening up their blocks. Overall, we stayed confident and fought the entire match."

Jade Mortimer was named to the All-Tournament Team for her efforts during the weekend. "Jade had another great weekend", stated Yankus. "She has been a great leader on and off the court this year. Defensively, she is picking up everything in her half of the court. She has also stepped up in serve-receive and is taking a lot more court. I'm very pleased with Jade's performance the entire season so far."

The Redhawks will travel to Carbondale, Illinois to take on regional rival Southern Illinois Tuesday at 6 p.m.