CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri volleyball (6-23, 5-10 OVC) defeated UT Martin (8-22, 4-11 OVC) in straight sets (25-22, 25-10, 25-20) Tuesday night at Houck Field House.

Both teams battled neck-and-neck until the Skyhawks earned a slight advantage late in the opening game (20-17). Following a kill by Krissa Gearring, the Redhawks were able to steal momentum thanks to two service aces by Katarina Rotta. SEMO surged past UTM, taking the first set 25-22.

Southeast put forth a strong showing in the second game, sparking an 11-point run and cruising to a 25-10 win. As a team, the Redhawks posted an impressive .321 attack percentage for the set as Gearring tallied six kills and Rotta registered 10 assists.

After another close set, the Redhawks went on to complete the sweep of UT Martin with a 25-20 win. A strong defensive presence by Southeast forced UTM to finish the contest with a -.210 hitting clip.

Gearring led offensively with a match-high 14 kills while Nzingha Clarke also tallied eight. Clarke boasted a .467 attack percentage and added three solo blocks to finish with 11.0 total points.

Rotta ended the night registering 20 assists while Keegan Fornoff earned 14.

Jade Mortimer led Southeast with 17 digs, averaging 5.67 per set. Marie Less followed with 15 digs, also tacking on seven kills of her own.

The victory also marks head coach Julie Yankus' 50th career Ohio Valley Conference win.
 
"I'm very proud of the way the team came together tonight," commented Yankus. "Everyone stepped up and took care of their responsibilities on the court. [Rotta] did a great job running the offense and her aggressive serving really helped spur some long runs of points for us. Jade had another great performance tonight and just dug everything in her area. I'm happy that our seniors played so well tonight.

"Nzingha also played really well and terminated with authority tonight," continued Yankus. "I hope we can carry this momentum into our final home match on Saturday."

While Southeast did its part winning on Tuesday night, tie-breaker implications and Jacksonville State's victory over Tennessee Tech the same night eliminates the Redhawks from a possible OVC Tournament appearance.

The Redhawks will close out the regular season on Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. against TTU. Before first serve, Southeast will honor seniors Mortimer, Rotta and Madalyn Werths.