CHICAGO, Ill. – Southeast Missouri volleyball (3-1) swept former Ohio Valley Conference member Jacksonville State (1-3) in their first match of the Windy City Classic by a final score of 3-0 Friday afternoon.
 
Friday's match expired in one hour and 24 minutes and included nine lead changes and 21 ties over the three sets. 
 
The Redhawks won 27-25, 25-21, and 25-13 to earn their second sweep of the season and their third win overall on the campaign. 
 
Kayla Closset made her presence felt in her return to the SEMO lineup after missing last weekend's tournament. Closset, the senior from Naperville, Ill., finished with nine kills and tied for the team lead in the category.
 
She also tallied one ace out of 15 serve attempts in the contest. 
 
Marisa Giusti continued her hot start to the season, tying Closset with nine kills herself on just 13 attempts for an impressive .615 hitting percentage. 
 
The Redhawks and Gamecocks battled in the first set as SEMO built a 23-18 lead late into the first frame. JSU would respond with a 5-0 run to tie it at 23 before SEMO was forced to call a timeout. 

SEMO would come out and secure the first set with a 27-25 finish. As a team, the Redhawks hit 61-percent to JSU's 57-percent. 
 
Following the first frame, it was all Redhawks. SEMO would hit 78-percent and 84-percent in the second and third set(s), respectively as the Redhawks finished with a team-attack of .178. 
 
Graduate student Talia Gouard had a nice impact around the net finishing with four kills and a block assist. She also registered two service aces out of 14 attempts from behind the line. 
 
Jenny Shook made her first start of the 2023 season as the sophomore setter was solid all day dishing out 25 assists. Shook also got in on the defensive action with a pair of block assists. 
 
Libero Tara Beilsmith continued to lead the SEMO defense digging out 16 JSU attacks. 
 
Senior defensive specialist Rachel Eddy made the play of the match with a diving attempt to get the ball back into play as it eventually found its way to Kayla Closset for the kill to swing the momentum completely in the Redhawks favor. 
 
SEMO will play tomorrow afternoon against the host, Chicago State, at the Jones Convocation Center. First serve is slated for 2 p.m. and will conclude the Windy City Classic.