CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (18-8, 10-2 OVC) fought past Jacksonville State (15-9, 9-3) in four sets (25-19, 19-25, 25-20, 25-23) Saturday at Houck Field House to extend its win streak to six matches.
 
The Ohio Valley Conference-leading Redhawks now sit atop the standings with Morehead State (19-6, 10-2 OVC). The victory also marked Southeast's 10th in OVC play this season.
 
"We want to thank all of the fans that came out today to support us," head coach Julie Yankus said of the crowd of 345 in attendance Saturday. "They helped create a great environment and we really fed off of their energy. This was a huge win for us today."
 
Mikayla Kuhlmann led the Redhawks offense with 14 kills. Laney Malloy was second on the team with a double-double of 12 kills and 11 digs. Krista Berns also had 12 kills on a .625 hitting clip.
 
Claire Ochs facilitated the SEMO attack with 45 assists and also chipped in six kills and seven digs with a career-best four service aces. With 45 assists on Saturday, the sophomore setter from Chesterfield, Missouri, has now surpassed 2,000 (2,030) assists in her career as a Redhawk. 
 
"I have to give a lot of credit to Claire [Ochs] for our victory today," Yankus said of her setter. "Her competitive drive, leadership, and athleticism were on full display today. Some of the plays that she helped create were amazing."
 
Southeast took a 1-0 lead in the match in a highly competitive opening set that saw both teams hit above .300 with SEMO outhitting JSU, .400 to .364.
 
Tied at 8-8, the Redhawks went on a 4-0 to pull ahead 12-8.  A block assist from Berns and Annie Wehrheim coupled with a Wehrheim kill pushed the advantage to 17-12.
 
Ochs notched a service ace before the Gamecocks came as close as 24-19. Malloy then bashed a kill to seal the set.
 
Jacksonville State then reversed the first set score (25-19) to even the match at 1-1 as they posted a .429 hitting clip.
 
In the third frame, SEMO utilized a 7-2 run to pull away from the Gamecocks, 17-10.
 
Back-to-back rally stoppers from Berns and Kuhlmann made the advantage, 20-12.
 
A 4-0 run by the Gamecocks cut the deficit to 23-18. Kuhlmann knocked a kill out of the break before consecutive rally stoppers from Kaylee Frear brought the edge to 24-20. Wehrheim then clinched the set with a kill.
 
The fourth and final set was also highly competitive and saw the Redhawk battle back from early adversity.
 
Trailing 12-7 after two straight kills from Lena Kindermann, Kuhlmann slammed a kill before Ochs delivered a pair of aces to come within two points, 12-10.
 
Blocks assists by Maggie Adams and Wehrheim and Malloy and Berns along with a Tara Beilsmith service ace made the scoreboard read, 14-14.
 
Southeast then widened the gap with a 5-0 rally to take a 23-18 lead in the set.
 
A kill from Kuhlmann brought on match point, 24-19, before Kaylie Milton added three kills and combined with Frear for a block to dwindle the advantage to 24-23 and prompt a SEMO timeout.
 
Out of the break, the Gamecocks hit a service error to conclude the contest, 25-23.
 
Beilsmith was second on Southeast with 10 digs and Emily Boggetto added nine.
 
The Redhawks out blocked JSU, 7-5. Adams posted four. Malloy and Berns each had three.
 
Southeast concludes its final regular-season homestand of the 2019 campaign on Thursday, Nov. 7 and Friday, Nov. 8 when it hosts Austin Peay and Murray State at Houck Field House. Both matches are scheduled to start at 6 p.m. The Redhawks will honor their four seniors prior to the match with Murray State Friday on Senior Day.