MACOMB, Ill. – Southeast Missouri volleyball (1-12) fell Drake (9-3) and Weber State (7-0) during the opening day of competition at the Leatherneck Invitational on Friday.
Drake 3, Southeast Missouri 0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-20)
Krissa Gearring led the Redhawks with 13 kills, earning her ninth double-double of the season taking on 11 digs.
Rachel Poole led SEMO in digs (12) while tallying 28 assists.
Twenty-four attack errors plagued Southeast in the match, leading to a low .089 hitting percentage. Drake, despite having 11 service errors, hit a respectable .293 in the three-set match.
Drake opened the beginning set on a 4-0 run but Southeast worked to tie the frame at 12-12. Southeast remained close in the set before the Bulldogs began to pull away late, picking up the 25-19 opening set win.
The second set remained tight early on but Drake was able to open a slight lead on the Redhawks. SEMO won three of four points later in the set, pulling within three, 22-19; however, Drake won the final three vollies to go ahead 2-0 in the match, 25-19.
The Bulldogs came out in the third set with a 7-1 lead before the Redhawks used a timeout. The Redhawks struggles to overcome the early deficit as Drake cruised to the 25-20 set three victory and the 3-0 sweep.
Weber State 3, Southeast Missouri 1 (25-13, 16-25, 25-23, 25-13)
Gearring registered her second double-double of the day, tallying 14 kills and 12 digs.
Poole and
Katarina Rotta accumulated 20 and 18 assists, respectively, while
Jade Mortimer led the Redhawks with 18 digs.
After falling in the opening set, Southeast regathered itself to handily take the second game 25-16. The Redhawks hitting percentage was it's best of the match at .278 during the set while Gearring earned six kills .
Trailing early in the third, SEMO fought to even the score and stayed neck-and-neck with the Wildcats. Tied at 22, WSU was able to pull away from the Redhawks and take the 2-1 match lead off a 25-23 set victory.
Southeast responded by taking an early lead in the fourth until WSU tied the frame at 10. Stringing together multiple runs, the Wildcats were able to close the contest and claim a 3-1 win.
The Redhawks will wrap up the Leatherneck Invitational tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. against tournament host Western Illinois. Southeast will then prepare for Ohio Valley Conference play which begins next weekend.
