Southeast Rallies from 2-1 Deficit with WIU for First Five-Set Win of 2018 Tuesday

Tuesday, September 11

Macomb, ILL.

7:00 PM

Southeast Missouri State University

7-5

Western Illinois

1-9

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Southeast Missouri	25	22	18	25	15	3
Western Illinois	23	25	25	17	9	2

Photo by: Marc Mahnke

9/11/2018 9:53:00 PM | Volleyball

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MACOMB, Ill. – Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (7-5) rallied from a 2-1 deficit to beat Western Illinois (1-9) Tuesday night at Western Hall for the team's first five-set (25-23, 22-25, 18-25, 25-17, 15-9) victory in 2018.

With the win, Southeast improves to 3-0 on Tuesdays in 2018.

After taking the opening set, 25-23, Southeast dropped the next two sets 22-25, 18-25, before mounting the five-set comeback. The Redhawks then claimed the match with a 25-17 fourth set and 15-9 fifth set.

Laney Malloy who won Ohio Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week on Monday, led the Redhawks attack with 22 kills and 16 digs for her fourth career double-double. Annie Wehrheim matched a career high 13 kills on a .579 hitting clip. Madara Bajare chipped in 11.

Claire Ochs registered her fifth double-double of 2018 with a personal best 57 assists with 15 digs.

The match opened with a back-and-forth first set as Southeast and Western Illinois exchanged the lead before three straight points for the Redhawks with kills from Bajare, Haley Bilbruck along with a block assist from Krista Berns and Malloy made the score 16-13 in favor of SEMO.

Bajare added another kill before a 3-0 run by the Leathernecks switched the lead to WIU, 20-19. Bajare tied the match at 20-20 and 21-21 before a Malloy kill and a WIU service error gave the Redhawks a 23-22 edge. Western Illinois would tie the set once more before a Malloy rally stopper along with a Berns and Ochs block assist won the set.

Western Illinois then took a 2-1 lead in the match with wins in the second and third set. The Leathernecks hit a match high .273 in the third set.

With their backs against the wall, Southeast started the fourth set with a 4-0 advantage after a kill from Wehrheim and a service ace from Ochs. Back-to-back kills from Malloy would extend that lead to 12-4 before a 4-0 run from the Leathernecks cut SEMO's edge to 13-9.

Malloy added two more consecutive rally stoppers and Madeline Grimm chipped in a service ace as SEMO regrew their lead to 18-12 which prompted a WIU timeout. A kill from Kendall Washington coupled with an Ally Dion service ace made the score 24-16 and Ochs sealed the set with a kill, 25-17.

In the decisive fifth set, SEMO hit a match high .476 and jumped out to a 4-0 edge for the second straight set. Kills from Wehrheim (2) and Malloy grew the lead to 7-3 as the Leathernecks pulled within a point on a service ace from Cassie Hunt.

A kill from Washington gave the Redhawks a slight edge, 9-8. Washington then added another kill to spark a 6-0 run for Southeast to claim the set, 15-9.

Ochs would record two service aces in the rally to match a career best of three and Wehrheim added two more kills down the final stretch.

Dion recorded 15 digs in the victory and Grimm tallied a season best of 14.

Southeast wraps up its non-conference schedule Wednesday against Northern Illinois at 6 p.m. at Victor E. Court in DeKalb, Illinois.