CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (3-2) registered a pair of 3-0 sweeps to open its 2019 Redhawks Invitational Friday at Houck Field House.
 
In the lunchtime match, Southeast bested Jackson State (3-3), 25-10, 25-11, 25-18 in front of 814 fans that primarily consisted of students from Cape Central Middle School. The Redhawks earned their second 3-0 sweep of 2019 with a 25-19, 25-17, 25-21 decision on Western Illinois (2-3) in the nightcap.
 
In the opener, Southeast swept Jackson State on a .333 hitting clip behind a .455 first set. Laney Malloy led the offense with 15 kills, tallying five per set.
 
The Redhawks jumped out to a 10-3 advantage in the first set after a 4-0 run that featured a block assist from Krista Berns and Colby Greene bookended by a Malloy kill and a Tara Beilsmith ace.
 
Southeast posted four of its eight total blocks in the opening set.
 
Kills from Berns and Claire Ochs coupled with a bad set by the Tiger pushed the advantage to 16-6 and forced a second JSU timeout.
 
The Tigers came as close as 22-10 before a rally stopper from Colby Greene followed by an Emily Boggetto service ace and a JSU attack error clinched the frame.
 
Boggetto matched a career best three aces in the match.
 
In the second set, the Redhawks started fast once again with a 3-0 lead that grew to a 17-7 advantage after an Elissa Moylan and Zoey Beasley block assist along with winners from Wehrheim and Malloy.
 
Beasley made her Southeast debut in the victory along with Kylie Plant who entered in the third set.
 
 Jackson State cut the lead to 22-11 before kills from Maggie Adams (2) and Ochs sealed the set win at 25-11.
 
The third set was the most competitive of all the frames as the two teams were tied six times. A 7-0 run finally distanced the Redhawks from the Tigers, 16-9. Wehrheim (2) and Elissa Moylan each notched kills in the rally.
 
A kill from Jylen Whitten pulled the Tigers within five, 19-14, before a block assist from Moylan and Kuhlmann completed the contest.
 
Ochs dished out 27 assists and 10 digs with five kills for her third double-double of the season.
 
Beilsmith started at libero in both matches Friday and recorded a personal best 18 digs against JSU. Ally Dion added seven.
 
The Redhawks continued the momentum Friday evening against WIU, connecting with .351 of their swings.
 
Greene paced the Redhawks when she matched her personal best 14 kills on a .500 hitting percentage. Wehrheim and Malloy chipped in eight apiece.
 
In the first set, Southeast was the first team to hit the 10-point plateau after a kill from Berns along with a Leathernecks error, 10-6.
 
Western Illinois answered with a 4-1 rally to pull within a point, 11-10. SEMO grew its margin in the set to 21-15 on a 3-0 run that featured kills from Ochs and Wehrheim along with a block by Adams.
 
A kill from JoJo Kruize brought WIU within three, 22-19, before the Redhawks sealed the first set with kills from Greene and Malloy coupled with a Dion service ace.
 
The second set was the Colby Greene show as the sophomore from North Liberty, Iowa, amassed half of her 14 kills (7) in the middle set while swinging at a .667 clip.
 
The Leathernecks started the set with an 11-8 advantage with back-to-back kills from Mackenzie Steckler prompting a SEMO timeout.
 
Out of the break, the Redhawks responded with a massive 6-0 run to pull the lead back in favor of the home side, 14-11. Southeast then increased the distance between the two squads with kills from Malloy, Greene (2) and Adams to make the score 18-12.
 
Two more kills from Greene combined with an ace from Beilsmith pushed the lead to 22-13 before Kruize cut the advantage to 24-17 with a kill.
 
The Redhawks then utilized their presence at the net to complete the set, 25-17, with a block assist by Berns and Ochs.
 
Southeast kept the Leathernecks at bay with a 25-21 third and final set to grab the victory.
 
Ochs passed out 31 assists while Beilsmith had 14 digs.
 
The Redhawks will conclude their home tournament Saturday at 2 p.m. against Evansville (1-1) at Houck Field House. The Purple Aces split their two matches Friday afternoon.