CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri volleyball (4-18, 3-5 OVC) defeated Tennessee State (12-12, 3-5 OVC) Saturday afternoon in four sets (25-19, 25-22, 28-30, 25-16) at Houck Field House.

Riding momentum from the night before, the Redhawks opened strong posting a team attack percentage of .394 in the first set. Krissa Gearring led the charge with seven kills, posting a .545 hitting clip. Madeline Grimm also had a strong frame, registering five kills.

Gearring's success continued in the following game, netting nine kills (.538 attack percentage). During the 25-22 set win, Nzingha Clarke also tallied six kills behind a .600 success rate.

Refusing to be swept, TSU battled with SEMO neck-and-neck throughout the third set. The frame saw 18 ties as well as nine lead changes as the Tigers were able to outlast the Redhawks and force a fourth game, 30-28.

After Southeast's lowest attack percentage rate in the third, the Redhawks rolled to a 25-16 win to claim a match victory, 3-1.

"We did a great job of executing our game plan today," stated head coach Julie Yankus. "Everyone was very aggressive with serving so we could get them out of system. We were also aggressive offensively while still mixing up our shots to make ourselves unpredictable. Gearring had an amazing game both offensively and defensively. She hit aggressively throughout the match and had some amazing digs. Our middles also worked very hard to be up in transition and worked hard to close as many blocks as possible.

Gearring finished the match with 26 kills (.333 attack percentage) and 14 digs for her 15th double-double of the season. Along with Gearring, Katarina Rotta also registered a double-double, tallying 47 assists along with 15 digs.

Clarke and Marie Less also finished with double-digit kills, earning 12 and 10 respectively. Clarke had a strong day at the net, tallying five solo blocks.

Jade Mortimer led defensively with 26 of the teams 72 digs while tacking on six assists.

"Clarke had a great match and Krista Berns was our unsung hero," continued Yankus. "She didn't get a lot of sets but she works so hard to pull the block and give the pin hitters chances to score. Overall, we had a great team performance. I'm so happy for our team this weekend. These young women work so hard day in and day out and it can be tough when you aren't getting the results you want. I hope this weekend gives our players the confidence and assurance that we are a great team."

The Redhawks return to action next weekend when they travel to take on Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State, Oct. 21-22.