CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (16-11, 8-6) fought past Eastern Illinois (10-19, 5-9), 3-1 (25-21, 26-28, 25-21, 25-13), with huge performances from the Redhawks senior class Saturday at Houck Field House on Senior Day.
Seniors
Madara Bajare,
Haley Bilbruck,
Keegan Fornoff and
Madeline Grimm were recognized prior to Saturday's home finale and were all in the starting lineup.
"Tonight was a great way to honor our seniors," head coach
Julie Yankus said of Saturday's Senior Day. "All four seniors really contributed tonight. They all started and ended the match on the court together which was really special. These four young women have had a huge impact on this program and they will be missed."
Fornoff dished out a season best seven assists with an ace. Grimm posted eight digs. Bajare was second on the team with 13 kills (.393) and had a season best four blocks. Bilbruck registered her sixth career double-double with 12 kills (.289) and 12 digs along with four blocks and two service aces.
Annie Wehrheim led the SEMO offense with 22 kills on a .340 hitting clip.
Claire Ochs tallied 47 assists and has now surpassed the 1,000 mark (1,037) in her first collegiate season.
In the opening set, EIU jumped out to a 7-2 lead before SEMO tied the frame early at 7-7 on a 5-0 run. Two kills from Wehrheim along with a kill from Bilbruck extended the advantage to 21-16 and brought on a Panthers timeout.
Elissa Moylan then connected with a kill to bring on set point, 24-19. Eastern Illinois would add two more points before Bajare blasted a kill to seal the set, 25-21.
EIU then outlasted the Redhawks in the second set, 26-28.
The Panthers built a 17-10 advantage before a 5-0 rally by SEMO cut the deficit to two, 19-17.
Maggie Adams, Ochs, Bajare (2) and Moylan each had kills in the run.
Bajare would add another kill and Moylan would team up with Bilbruck for a block assist to even the set at 21-21.
Laurel Bailey knocked a kill for the Panthers to bring on set point, 24-22, which Southeast would hold off with back-to-back kills from Bilbruck and Wehrheim along with an ace from Bilbruck to make the score, 25-24.
Adams would add a rally stopper for the final Redhawks lead of the set, 26-25, before EIU evened the match at 1-1 with a 28-26 second frame win.
Southeast had to once again come from behind in the third set. Trailing 16-14, SEMO mounted a 7-0 run to take a 20-16 advantage. Kills from Wehrheim (2) and an ace from
Laney Malloy forced a Panthers timeout at set point, 24-18.
Eastern Illinois would come as close as three, 24-21, before Wehrheim notched the set winning kill.
In the fourth set, SEMO was the first team to hit the 10-point plateau and utilized a 6-0 rally to increase the margin to 16-19. Moylan recorded three kills in the run and finished with a personal-best outing of eight kills in her first career start.
Southeast then distanced itself from the Panthers on a 5-0 run with Bilbruck's rally stopper growing the Redhawks lead to 22-12. EIU would score once more as SEMO cruised to a 25-13 final set.
Southeast continued to improve its hitting percentage each set and finished with a .247 after a team-high .286 in the fourth set. SEMO posted a .171 in the first, a .267 in the second and a .270 in the third.
The Redhawks had a 6-1 edge on EIU in aces and were more active at the net with nine team blocks compared to the Panthers' four. Adams paced SEMO with six total blocks.
Ally Dion led the defense with 17 balls dug up. Malloy added 12 in her second straight match as libero.
With the win, Southeast has now swept the 2018 regular season series with Eastern Illinois.
SEMO is now tied for fourth in the conference with SIUE with two regular season matches remaining.
The Redhawks next travel to Martin, Tennessee, for a mid-week matchup against UT Martin on Tuesday at 6 p.m. In the regular season finale, Southeast treks to Jacksonville, Alabama, for a 2 p.m. meeting with Jacksonville State on Saturday, Nov. 10.
