RICHMOND, Ky. - Southeast Missouri volleyball (4-19, 3-6 OVC) fell to Eastern Kentucky (9-12, 4-5 OVC) in five sets (25-19, 23-25, 20-25, 25-18,15-12) Friday night.

Southeast began the match by capturing the first three rallies. The Colonels quickly overtook the Redhawks and would not look back, winning the opening game 25-19. Krissa Gearring led SEMO with six kills in the first game to open the match.

The Colonels success would allow for a slight advantage through a majority of the second game until a four-point run pushed the Redhawks out ahead of EKU (20-16). Southeast fended off a late Colonel rally to hang on and draw a 1-1 tie in the match.

In similar fashion, another late string of points allowed SEMO to cruise to a 25-20 third set win. Southeast sported it's best hitting percentage of the match during the game with an impressive .429 average.

EKU would force a fifth and final set after decisively knocking off Southeast in the fourth frame, 25-18. The Colonels success continued late in the fifth set, defeating the Redhawks 3-2 after a 15-12 set win.

Both Gearring (22 kills, 20 digs) and Marie Less (17 kills, 15 digs) earned double-doubles in the contest. Nzingha Clarke also was able to register double-digit kills (10) while Jade Mortimer led defensively with 25 digs. Katarina Rotta also tallied 52 assists in the match.

The Redhawks return to action tomorrow at Morehead State with first serve slated for 4 p.m., CT.