CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (2-2, 2-2 OVC) swept Eastern Kentucky (1-3, 1-3 OVC) with a pair of four set victories Sunday at Houck Field House for SEMO's first two Ohio Valley Conference wins this season.
 
SEMO beat the Colonels, 20-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-22, in the noon match before overcoming EKU, 23-25, 28-26, 25-20, 25-14, in the evening tilt.
 
Laney Malloy paced the Redhawks over the two matches with 36 kills and 23 digs on a .288 hitting clip. Colby Greene chipped in 27 kills, converting at a rate of .283.
 
Claire Ochs dished out 86 assists and finished with 20 digs.
 
Tara Beilsmith led the defense with 41 digs over the two matches.
 
Match 1
 
SEMO picked up its first win of the 2020-21 season in four sets (20-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-22) Sunday afternoon. After dropping the first set, 25-20, the Redhawks rallied for the victory with 25-23, 25-18 and 25-22 second through fourth frames.
 
Malloy led SEMO with 15 kills, 14 digs and four blocks for her first double-double of the season and 33rd in her career as a Redhawk. Greene added 12 with four blocks. Freshman Kayla Closset tallied nine in her SEMO debut to go with seven digs and two blocks.
 
With a slight 16-15 advantage, the Colonels pulled ahead 19-16 with a 4-0 run.
 
Out of a timeout, Talia Gouard and Claire Ochs teamed up for a block assist to cut the lead to 19-17.
 
Jovana Bulotvic added a rally stopper to grow the EKU margin to 23-18. SEMO came as close as 23-20 after consecutive Colonel errors before EKU grabbed the opening set, 25-20.
 
SEMO struggled hitting in the first set, finishing with .029 before concluding the match with .149. EKU notched an overall clip of .168 and tallied a match-high mark of .294 in the second set.
 
The Redhawks jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set before EKU evened the frame at 6-6. SEMO hit its highest clip of .205 in the frame.
 
Malloy slammed a kill to provide SEMO with a 19-18 lead before the Colonels retied the set at 19-19 after a Molly Michalak rally stopper.
 
Malloy and Maggie Adams then connected on consecutive kills to push the Redhawk advantage to 21-19.
 
EKU would knot the set at 21-21 and 23-23 before a winner from Closset coupled with a block assist by Malloy and Gouard evened the match at 1-1.
 
SEMO started the third set strong with a 5-2 lead before the Colonels came within one, 9-8. A 3-0 rally from Eastern Kentucky tied the set at 11-11.
 
The Redhawks went on a 4-0 run to distance themselves from EKU, 15-11. Tara Beilsmith registered an ace after a kill from Greene to widen the gap to 17-12.
 
A block assist from Closset and Gouard punctuated a 3-0 run and made the SEMO edge, 21-13.
 
EKU then responded with a 5-1 run after a timeout to cut the SEMO lead to 22-18. The Redhawks then scored the next three points to take a 2-1 edge into the fourth set. Malloy teamed up with Adams for a block before Claire Ochs elected for the kill on a free ball opportunity.
 
SEMO continued its pattern of strong starts to open sets, jumping out to an 8-2 advantage in the final frame.
 
The Colonels took an early timeout before tying the set at 8-8 after a 6-0 run.
 
Consecutive kills from Lindsey Wilkins and Michalak gave EKU a 13-10 lead. Michalak connected on another kill to grow the Colonel advantage to 15-12.
 
Greene tallied back-to-back kills to knot the set at 15-15 after Malloy pounded a winner.
 
SEMO then went on a 4-0 rally to take a 19-16 lead.

Audrey Eurton and Lindsey Wilkins evened the set at 20-20 and 21-21 with a pair of kills.
 
Ochs then posted a kill before an EKU attack error made the SEMO lead 23-21. Eurton chipped in a kill before Malloy sealed the win with a rally stopper, 25-22.
 
Adams led the Redhawks with eight blocks as SEMO outblocked the Colonels, 12-8. Gouard finished with four.
 
Beilsmith paced the Redhawks defense with 16 digs. Ally Dion added eight. Ochs ran the offense with a double-double of 40 assists and 10 digs with five kills and two blocks.
 
Match 2
 
For the second straight match Sunday, SEMO dropped the opening set before edging the Colonels, 23-25, 28-26, 25-20, 25-14, in the 5 p.m. contest.
 
Malloy paced the Redhawks for the second-straight match with 21 kills in the series finale to go along with nine digs. Greene added 15.
 
Trailing 1-0 in the match, SEMO raced out to a 15-12 lead after a 5-0 run. Dion notched a pair of service aces in the rally.
 
A kill from Lindsey Wilkins cut the Redhawks edge to 16-15. Eastern Kentucky then evened the set at 18-18 after three-straight points.
 
Bulotvic posted a kill to shift the lead to the Colonels, 23-21.
 
EKU fended off set point twice before a rally stopper from Ochs knotted the set at 25-25.
 
Tied at 26-26, Ochs knocked a kill before Malloy claimed the set with a winner.
 
Eastern Kentucky started the third set with a 5-1 lead before the Redhawks clawed back to even the set at 5-5.
 
Bulotvic registered a kill to make the scoreboard read, 16-14, in favor of the Colonels.
 
SEMO then notched a pair of 3-0 runs to pull ahead 17-16 and then 20-18. Malloy slammed a kill after an EKU block assist by Wilkins and Maddy Campbell cut the Redhawk lead to 20-19.
 
The Redhawks then took the third set, 25-20, with four straight points after a service error.
 
In the fourth set, SEMO jumped out to an 18-10 advantage after a 5-0 run.
 
Izzy Lukens placed a service ace after a kill from Malloy to grow the advantage to 20-12.
 
Wilkins added a kill before a 4-0 rally from SEMO brought on match point, 24-13.
 
Adams then clinched the contest with a kill after a Redhawks service error, 25-14.
 
Tara Beilsmith paced the SEMO defense in the second match with a season-high 25 digs.
 
Ochs passed out 46 assists with 10 digs for her second double-double of the day.
 
Dion notched a trio of service-aces to complement 11 digs. Closset tallied 12 digs with five kills in her first career start at SEMO.
 
SEMO posted eight aces compared to the Colonels two.
 
The Redhawks also outblocked EKU, 8-6.

SEMO finished the second match with a hitting clip of .220 while the Colonels tallied a .188.
 
SEMO continues its 2020-21 campaign with a trip to the Music City to face Belmont on Feb. 22 and Feb. 23. Match times are scheduled for 4 p.m., CT on both days and will be contested at the Curb Event Center.