MURRAY, Ky. – Southeast Missouri volleyball (1-15, 0-2 OVC) was swept (25-19, 26-24, 25-13) by Murray State (7-7, 2-0 OVC) Friday afternoon at the Racer Arena.
 
After a close first half of the opening game, the Racers captured momentum with a five-point rally and took the advantage with a 25-19 finish . Krissa Gearring led the offense in the first set with five kills. SEMO's defensive efforts produced four team blocks while Jade Mortimer registered nine digs.
 
Southeast regathered themselves early in the second, jumping out to a 5-1 lead after a tandem block by Gearring and Krista Berns. Neck-and-neck, the Redhawks and Racers battled to an eventual tie at 20 off of Gearring's 10th kill. MSU, however, would edge the Redhawks to win the second set (26-24). SEMO tallied five more team blocks during the frame, including two solo efforts from Nzingha Clarke.
 
Murray State would go on to sweep the match after taking the third game, 25-12.
 
Gearring led the Redhawks with 12 kills during the match while Berns and Clarke followed with five kills each. Both also had a strong net pressence during the fray, each earning five total blocks. Katarina Rotta tallied 23 assists as Mortimer led defensively with 18 digs.
 
"As a whole, we blocked very well today which was great to see," commented head coach Julie Yankus. "Our middles worked hard to close every block possible. We did a good job defensively today but we need to continue to improve our offense. We need to terminate more efficiently and will continue to work on that this week."
 
The Redhawks return to action next weekend, Sept. 30-Oct. 1, when hosting Eastern Illinois and SIUE. Friday's match against the Panthers is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.