EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Freshman libero Tara Beilsmith registered a career-best 33 digs but Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (19-10, 11-4 OVC) fell to SIUE (14-13, 9-6 OVC), 19-25, 29-31, 21-25, Friday evening at the First Community Arena at the Vadalabene Center.
 
Beilsmith posted her 14th career 20-plus dig outing Friday in the penultimate regular-season match on the Redhawks schedule. She now ranks fifth all-time in Southeast program history (25-point rally scoring era from 2008 to present) for digs in a season with 540 in 2019.
 
SIUE jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-19 opening set. The Cougars grew their lead to 13-6 after kills from Gabby Wimes and Rachel McDonald coupled with an ace from Mallory Nicholson.
 
A rally stopper from Wimes pushed the advantage to 23-13.
 
SEMO responded with three-straight points including a Mikayla Kuhlmann kill before a block assist by Annie Ellis and Hope Everett brought on set point, 24-16.
 
The Redhawks fended off set point three times to come as close as 24-19 before Dylynn Otte sealed the set with a kill. 
 
In the second set, SEMO built a 12-8 lead after winners from Krista Berns and Kuhlmann. 
 
The Cougars stormed back with a 5-0 run to take a slight 15-13 edge.
 
Ochs then connected with a kill for the 20-17 Redhawks lead. Kills from Laney Malloy and Kuhlmann sandwiched a block assist from Kuhlmann and Berns to extend the advantage to 23-18. 
 
Kuhlmann added a kill for set point, 24-20, before a 5-0 rally by SIUE.
 
Kuhlmann delivered another kill followed by a block assist by Maggie Adams and Annie Wehrheim made the score, 26-25. 
 
A kill from Berns then retied the frame at 29-29. The Cougars then benefited from a SEMO error and an ace from Otte to take the marathon second set, 31-29.
 
SIUE continued that momentum into the third set, starting with a 5-1 advantage.
 
Kills from Malloy and Berns chipped away at the early deficit, 9-7.
 
Kuhlmann then slammed a kill before a Berns ace to cut the lead to two, 18-16.
 
Trailing 22-18, SEMO posted a 3-0 run to pull within a point, 22-21. Adams, Berns and Wehrheim each had a kill during the rally. 
 
The Cougars then answered with three straight kills of their own by Everett, Kiana Fields and Otte to earn the sweep.
 
Kuhlmann led the Redhawks offensively with nine kills while Berns and Adams each had six. Wehrheim finished with five and Malloy posted four. 
 
Setter Claire Ochs dished out 28 assists with 13 digs for the double-double. Malloy added eight digs for a new career-best in a season of 308. Emily Boggetto tallied seven digs.
 
Ellis had a match-high 11 kills and Everett finished with 10.
 
Southeast was out blocked, 12-7, and had two aces compared to SIUE's five. 
 
Adams paced SEMO with five blocks and now has a career-best 109.0 total blocks (93 block assists and 16 solo) in 2019. She also now has 200 career block assists as a Redhawk. 
 
Kuhlmann concluded the match with four blocks. Berns had two for a career-high 91.0 total blocks this season.
 
With the loss, SIUE has swept the regular-season series with Southeast, 2-0. 
 
The Redhawks wrap up their 2019 regular-season schedule Saturday at Eastern Illinois. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Lantz Arena in Charleston, Illinois. 
 
Southeast will then compete at the 2019 Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Championship which will be held on the campus of the No. 1 seed (regular-season OVC Champion) Nov. 21-23.