CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (5-2) had to work hard for their Labor Day victory over Western Illinois (3-4) on Monday afternoon at the Houck Field House.
 
"I'd rather win in three, but when we get it done that's great," head coach Julie Yankus said with a laugh. "My freshman libero [Ally Dion] really stayed calm and steady throughout the match and in precious situations. There are a lot of other new players on the court right now that played really, really well and just remained composed."
 
The Redhawks came out slow and dropped the first set 25-14 before bouncing back to take the next two sets 25-18 and 25-8. Western Illinois roared back to win the fourth set, 25-21, to force a decisive fifth set, but SEMO prevailed in the final set 15-13 to extend their winning streak to four matches.
 
Nzingha Clarke led the offense with 18 kills in the victory and both Krissa Gearring and Mikayla Kuhlmann each chipped in a double-double to rally Southeast past the Leathernecks. Gearring finished the night with 17 kills and 13 digs and Kuhlmann contributed 14 kills and 11 digs.
 
Southeast regained their footing in the match when they posted a .452 hitting percentage in the second set. Gearring and Kuhlmann combined for back-to-back kills to close the set at 25-18. Gearring recorded six of her 17 kills and Kuhlmann added four in the set.
 
In the third set, Southeast hit a match-high .714 clip. SEMO jumped out to a 5-0 lead and never trailed. Clarke posted eight of her 18 kills in the third set alone and recorded three straight kills to increase the Redhawks lead to 18-7. Gearring would serve 11 times in the third set and added three service aces.
 
The Leathernecks responded with a 25-21 fourth set win to extend the match. Mackenzie Steckler compiled six of her 10 kills to lead WIU offensively in the set.
 
Western Illinois started the final frame strong with an early 6-2 lead. Kills by Kuhlmann and Gearring along with a block assist by Krista Berns and Haley Bilbruck brought SEMO within a point at 5-6 forcing a Leathernecks timeout.
 
Clarke then slammed home a kill to give Southeast a 9-8 edge in the final set. WIU then tied the set at 13-13 with a kill from Shalyn Greenhaw and a service ace from Shiah Sanders. Kuhlmann closed out the match with a kill and forced a Leatherneck error when she sent a heavy attack over two blockers.
 
Dion had 12 digs defensively and setter Keegan Fornoff recorded 35 assists in the match.
 
Southeast travels to Des Moines, Iowa this weekend for the Drake Tournament where they will face Montana, Drake, and Omaha.