CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Southeast Missouri volleyball (5-23, 4-10 OVC) knocked off Eastern Illinois (5-24, 2-12 OVC) in straight sets (25-15, 27-25, 25-15) Saturday night at the Lantz Arena.

Tied at five in the opening set, EIU took a slight advantage over the Redhawks after claiming eight of the next 10 rallies. Southeast was able to overtake EIU 14-13 and eventually cruise to an opening 25-15 set victory. Nzingha Clarke tallied six kills in the set behind a .333 attack percentage.

A back-and-forth battle followed throughout the second frame. As EIU took a 22-20 lead, the Redhawks called timeout in an attempt to regroup. After three late lead changes, SEMO edged past EIU for a 27-25 set victory. Clarke's success continued with six more kills while Krissa Gearring was able to register eight of her own as Southeast had a match best .265 hitting clip in the game.

Southeast repeated their successful showing from the opening set, coasting to another 25-15 set win and completing the sweep. The victory was SEMO's second sweep of EIU and first road win of the season.

Gearring finished the night with a match-leading 16 kills while Clarke finished with 13 (.393 attack percentage). 

Keegan Fornoff earned her second double-double of the season, finishing 26 assists and 15 digs. Jade Mortimer led the defense with 25 digs (8.33 per set) in the short contest.

"I'm very proud of our team performance tonight," commented head coach Julie Yankus. "Everyone stepped up and put it all on the floor. Jade had an amazing night with 25 digs and those were quality digs where we could still set our middles. Nzingha also had a great night, both offensively and defensively. She terminated the ball when we really needed it and had some awesome blocks that really fired up the team."

"Krissa had another good match with her steady play," continued Yankus. "She gets set a lot and is forced to save us in tough situations. She handles that role very well and came up big for us when the match was tight."

The Redhawks return home for a midweek match against UT Martin on Tuesday, Nov. 8, followed by the regular season finale against Tennessee Tech (Nov. 12). First serve against the Skyhawks is set for 6:30 p.m.