TROY, Ala. – Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (2-0) posted two three-set sweeps Friday afternoon at the Trojan Arena to open its 2018 season at the Troy Invitational.
 
The two victories marked the first time since the 2009 campaign that Southeast began its season 2-0.
 
SEMO started Friday with a 25-16, 25-17, 25-17 noon win over Southern (La.) (0-1) and then outdueled Southeastern Louisiana (0-1), 25-20, 25-18, 25-21, after a short intermission.
 
Freshman captain Claire Ochs led Southeast with 56 assists (9.33 assists per set) as she racked up 25 and then 31 in her Redhawks debut. Ochs posted her first career double-double in the second match against Southeastern Louisiana (SLU) of the Southland Conference, posting 12 digs to complement her 31 assists. 
 
Offensively, Krista Berns posted eight kills on a .600 hitting clip against Southern of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. In the second match with SLU, newcomer Laney Malloy (.381) and Madara Bajare each tallied 10 kills.
 
Ally Dion and Malloy each had eight digs against Southern.
 
The Redhawks started the day with a 5-0 run to take a 9-3 lead in the opening set with the Southern Jaguars of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Back to back kills from Madara Bajare extended Southeast's lead to 15-6. SEMO would not relinquish that edge and grew its lead to double-digits (20-10) with a kill from Malloy before taking the set, 25-16.
 
SEMO then claimed the second set, 25-17, with five unanswered points which included two block assists and a kill from Maggie Adams and a kill and a block from Haley Bilbruck. 
 
Adams led the team with four blocks in the first match with the Jaguars.
 
Southeast closed out the match with a 25-17 third set which included a 7-0 run punctuated by three straight aces by Dion. Dion had four perfect serves in the rally to grow SEMO's lead to 18-10 before Annie Wehrheim connected with the game winner to finish the match.
 
SEMO outhit the Jaguars, .301 to .124 thanks to a .419 third set. 
 
The Redhawks rode the momentum from their first match as the team overcame SLU, 25-20, 25-18, 25-21 in the second match.
 
Down 3-1, Southeast took a 7-4 edge in the first set courtesy of a 6-0 run. SLU came within a point, 17-16, with a 3-0 rally before a Malloy kill and Bilbruck block made the score line 20-17 SEMO. Berns and Bajare then teamed up for a block to take the first set, 25-20. 

The Redhawks out blocked the Lions, 8-5, with Bilbruck notching six (two solo, four assists).
 
The second set with SLU continued the back and forth pattern of the match. With the Lions leading, 7-3, Southeast called their first timeout before mounting a 3-0 run to bring the early score to within a point, 7-6. 
 
The Redhawks and the Lions traded ties from 8-8 to 14-14 before SEMO took the lead with a kill from Ochs to make the lead, 20-17. SLU would gain just one more point as Southeast held the Lady Lions at bay with a 5-0 run to close the set, 25-18. Bajare tallied two kills in the rally and Ochs added an ace. 
 
The Redhawks captured the second match with a 25-21 third set. With SEMO leading 15-11, the Lady Lions turned the tides of the set with a 5-0 rally to earn a 16-15 edge. Ochs then knotted the set at 17-17 with a kill before an Adams and Bilbruck block assist brought the lead back in SEMO's favor, 19-18. 
 
SLU would then tie the set at 19-19, 20-20 and 21-21 before Southeast ended the contest with a kill and an ace from Malloy along with a kill from Ochs and a Lions attack error.
 
Bilbruck chipped in eight kills against SLU. 
 
Southeast compiled a hitting percentage of .323 with a .355 clip in the middle set and a mark of .343 in the final set. 
 
The Redhawks face tournament host, Troy, Saturday morning at 10 a.m. to close out their weekend of competition. The match will be broadcasted on Facebook Live. 
 
• The 2018 Southeast Missouri women's volleyball Media Guide is now available.