CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (9-16, 4-7) outlasted UT Martin (11-13, 5-6) in a five-set thriller (24-26, 22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 15-10) Tuesday night at Houck Field House.
 
Down two sets, the Redhawks rallied off three straight set wins to claim the match and even the 2017 regular series with the Skyhawks, 1-1. The victory also improved SEMO's home record this season to 7-3.
 
"I'm so proud of the fight I saw in the team tonight," head coach Julie Yankus said. "It is so hard to overcome an 0-2 deficit and the team really rallied together over the break. This was a true team win."
 
Krissa Gearring led Southeast with 18 kills and 19 digs for her ninth double-double of the season. Allie Henkelman also compiled her ninth double-double of 2017 with 30 assists and 14 digs.
 
Nzingha Clarke and Haley Bilbruck each added 12 kills.
 
"Haley played with some fire tonight," Yankus said of Bilbruck's career-best kill night. "She demanded the ball and terminated when given the opportunity. It was great to see her fight and determination."
 
Marie Less recorded a season-high eight kills with nine digs coming off the bench.
 
"Marie Less really stepped up tonight," Yankus said of Less who has played a majority of this season as a defensive specialist. "She hasn't been training as an outside hitter this year and she came in and did a great job in that position. She brings a lot of communication and leadership to the court."
 
After the break, Southeast jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the third set. Three straight service aces from Ally Dion grew the Redhawks lead to 13-3. UT Martin then rattled off six straight points to come within a point, 20-21. Tied at 23-23, Bilbruck notched a kill and Clarke and Madara Bajare combined for a block to force a fourth set.
 
The fourth set was tighter in the early-goings as the stanza featured ties at 12-12, 13-13 and 14-14. Southeast went on a 5-0 run to pull away from the Skyhawks, 21-15. UT Martin closed the gap with a 5-1 rally to cut SEMO's lead to 22-20 and a Redhawks timeout.
 
Back from the timeout, Gearring and Less each hit kills to make the score 24-20. The Skyhawks would come as close as 22-24 but a UTM error finished the set, 25-22, in Southeast's favor.
 
In the deciding, fifth set the score line seesawed back and forth to start. SEMO hit a match-best .611 in the final frame. Back-to-back kills from Bilbruck and Clarke extended the Redhawks lead to 11-8. Kills from UT Martin's Jemima Idemudia and Macy Reigelsperger brought the Skyhawks to within a point, 10-11.
 
Southeast closed out the set to win the match with kills from Gearring, two from Clarke and a UTM attack error.
 
Defensively, Dion had 14 digs in the match and Clarke and Bajare each had seven block assists. Dion also matched her career-best of five services aces in the contest and had a career-high seven assists.
 
Southeast was outhit by the Skyhawks in the first two sets before the tables turned and the Redhawks held the edge hitting.
 
The Redhawks travel to Cookeville, Tennessee for a meeting with Tennessee Tech on Friday at 7 p.m.