CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (11-5, 2-2 OVC) swept Belmont (4-10, 2-2 OVC), 25-20, 25-19, 25-19, Friday night at Houck Field House in its Ohio Valley Conference series opener with the Bruins.
 
SEMO halted its losing streak at two matches with its fifth 3-0 sweep in 2021 and first in league play.
 
Laney Malloy led the Redhawks offensively, notching 18 kills on a .375 pace with five digs. Zoey Beasley added 14 kills on a .300 clip while Colby Greene had seven and Mackenzie Meehan chipped in a career-best six.
 
Talia Gouard registered five kills on a stellar .400 hitting percentage.
 
SEMO opened the match with a 5-2 lead in the first set after kills from Meehan, Malloy and Greene coupled with a Tara Beilsmith service ace.
 
The Redhawks extended their advantage to 15-12 after rally stoppers from the trio of attackers plus a Bruins attack error.
 
Beasley then slammed a kill before back-to-back Redhawks blocks widen the gap to 20-14.
 
Beasley added another winner before a service ace from Claire Ochs to make the score, 22-16.
 
Meehan then connected on a kill before a Belmont error brought on set point at 24-19. Malloy claimed the opening set with a kill, 25-20.
 
Malloy had five kills in the first frame while Greene chipped in four on a .364 and Meehan had three on a .750.
 
SEMO hit at a rate of .306 in the first set before a match-high .375 in the second stanza.
 
The second set was a race to 15 with both teams knotted at 11-11, 12-12 and 13-13 early. The set featured 11 ties to go along with three lead changes.
 
Trailing 13-12, SEMO went on a 6-0 run to pull ahead 18-13. Kayla Closset, Gouard and Malloy (2) each had kills during the sequence.
 
The Redhawks then registered four-straight points to complete the 10-1 rally after a kill from Mary Catherine Ball to increase the margin to 22-14.
 
Gouard tallied a kill before a 3-0 run from the Bruins cut the lead to 23-19.
 
Beasley then closed out the set with consecutive kills. She had seven kills during the frame on a .439 hitting clip.
 
Gouard was perfect on all four of her swings in the second set and Malloy finished the frame with six.
 
The third set was tight from the beginning with the two squads tied at 8-8 after a kill from Malloy.
 
Taylor Floyd hit a kill to even set #3 at 13-13 before rally stoppers by Malloy and Greene provided SEMO a slight 15-13 edge at the media timeout.
 
Malloy then hit a pair of kills to bookend a Bruins error for an 18-14 advantage. The senior from Roselle, Illinois, knocked seven rally stoppers during the set.
 
Floyd would add another kill to cut the deficit to three before a 4-0 rally from the Redhawks (22-15).
 
Ochs then hit two of her three kills on the night to make the scoreboard read 23-16. Ally Dion recorded both assists, setting up the senior setter from Chesterfield, Missouri.
 
The Bruins continued to fight and clawed within 23-19 after kills by Laura Shoopman and Lauren Walsh (2).
 
Beasley tallied a kill before a Belmont error to claim the sweep for the Redhawks.
 
SEMO hit its third-highest hitting clip of the season Friday, finishing with a .311.
 
Ochs dished out 41 assists with 12 digs, three kills and three aces.
 
Dion led the Redhawks defensively, grabbing 15 digs. Beilsmith finished with 10 and a pair of assists. Closset accumulated six digs.
 
SEMO outscored the Bruins, 61-40, and led in kills 54-35.
 
The Redhawks had four aces compared to one for Belmont.
 
The Bruins had one more block, taking the category, 4-3.
 
Shoopman led Belmont with 11 kills and seven digs. Izzy Schauer posted 32 assists and Rachel McBride scooped up 14 digs.
 
SEMO closes the two-match series with the Bruins Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., CT at Houck Field House.