CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (14-8, 6-3) fought past Belmont (2-19, 2-6), 25-21, 28-26, 25-23, for its second Ohio Valley Conference sweep of 2018 Friday on Pink Up Night at Houck Field House.
 
Claire Ochs dished out 25 assists and chipped in 12 digs for her 11th straight double-double this season.
 
Southeast opened the match with a 3-1 lead in the first set courtesy of kills from Maggie Adams and Annie Wehrheim. A service ace from Ally Dion coupled with a rally stopper from Krista Berns increased the margin to 13-10. Berns then tallied back-to-back kills to prompt a Bruins timeout with SEMO leading 17-14.
 
Kills from Mackenzie LePage and Mary Catherine Ball cut the Redhawks edge to one, 19-18 and then 20-19 before SEMO closed out the set with a kill from Haley Bilbruck and block assists from Bilbruck and Berns, 25-21.
 
Southeast then had to come from behind in both the second and third frames to earn the sweep over Belmont.
 
Down a set, the Bruins took an 11-9 edge in the second frame on a kill from Alexa Nichols before back-to-back block assists from Bilbruck (2), Laney Malloy and Berns along with a kill from Malloy shifted the advantage to Southeast, 13-11.
 
Bilbruck would grow the lead to 15-12 on a kill before a 5-0 run from Belmont moved the set back in favor of the Bruins, 17-15. A service ace from Akia Warrior made the score 21-17 before the Redhawks mounted a 4-0 rally that featured a kill from Berns, block assists from Annie Wehrheim and Berns and a service ace from Ochs evened the set at 22-22.
 
The lead would then exchange hands multiple times as both teams vied for the advantage. The set encountered 14 ties score lines including 23-23, 24-24, 25-25, 26-26. A rally stopper from Malloy would knot the frame for the final time at 26-26 before SEMO seized the set on a kill from Ochs, 28-26.
 
In the third and final set, the Bruins jumped out to an early 6-2 lead on a 6-0 run. A 5-0 rally followed by a 3-0 run would extend the margin in the set to 17-12 and force a SEMO timeout.
 
Out of the break, Southeast responded with a six unanswered points to pull ahead in the set, 18-17. Madara Bajare registered a kill after the timeout and SEMO capitalized on five straight Belmont errors in the 6-0 rally.
 
The Bruins would then knot the set at 18-18 before reclaiming the lead 20-19. An ace from Berns pushed the lead back to SEMO, 22-21, which brought on a Belmont timeout.
 
The Bruins would once again tie the set at 22-22 before a kill and a service ace from Bilbruck extended the advantage for Southeast to 24-22. Belmont would come as close as a point before SEMO won the set on a Bruins error, 25-23.
 
The Redhawks out blocked Belmont, 10-2, as Bilbruck and Berns both established their presence at the net with six total blocks each.
 
Bilbruck paced the SEMO offense with eight kills and compiled a team best 12 digs. Berns added six kills and four digs.
 
Southeast continues the homestand with a 5 p.m. contest Saturday against Tennessee State (7-13, 5-4). Fans receive free admission to the match with a Southeast Football ticket (game at 1 p.m. at Houck Field against Jacksonville State). Following the match Saturday, the team will be signing post-match autographs.