CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri (5-10, 1-1) claimed its first Ohio Valley Conference victory with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-13, 20-25, 25-19) win over Austin Peay (5-11, 0-2) Saturday night at Houck Field House.

An early see-saw battle ensued and Southeast held a one-point lead (20-19) before scoring five of the final seven points to secure a 25-21 win in the opening set. Marie Less, Nzingha Clarke and Krissa Gearring each had kills, while a service and attack error by Logan Carger accounted for the other two points during the Redhawks decisive surge.

Tied at six in the second set, Less ignited a six-point rally with another kill. That stretch gave the Redhawks a nice boost of momentum as they cruised to a 25-13 win. Madalyn Werths recorded four kills and a .667 hitting percentage in the set which ended with Southeast scoring four-straight unanswered points.

APSU broke a 19-19 tie by scoring six of the last seven points to grab a 25-20 win before Southeast finished off the Lady Govs for good.

Rallying behind their home crowd, the Redhawks dominated much of final set.

After multiple runs and four team blocks, Southeast found itself ahead, 20-11. That was too much for APSU to handle as the Redhawks took the match with a 25-19 victory. Clarke contributed three kills and tallied four block assists to key the set.

Southeast registered 11 team blocks, with Clarke and Korrine Croft paving the way with 2.5 each. 

Gearring led the Redhawks with 12 kills on the night. Clarke (11), Less (10), and Werths (10) each tallied double-digit kills, as well. Freshmen setter Keegan Fornoff collected 31 of Southeast's 48 assists and Werths posted a match-high .500 attack percentage.

"We focused on blocking all week and I'm so happy that hard work paid off," said Southeast head coach Julie Yankus. "We really focused on blocking form and reading our opponents, and it definitely showed tonight. Nzingha had a great presence and did a great job offensively. She is basically unstoppable when we get her the ball. Madalyn did a great job, as well. She really turned it on and swung aggressively all night. Her hitting percentage was remarkable."

The Redhawks host UT Martin on Sept. 29.