CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri defeated Lindenwood 3-1 (25-14, 25-22, 22-25, 25-13) on Saturday. The result ended Lindenwood's 10-match winning streak. The Redhawks hit .352 for the match, including .414 during a fourth set that began with an 8-0 run.

With this win, SEMO jumps to the top of the OVC winning the tiebreaker over Lindenwood.

SEMO (12-7, 5-1 OVC) overcame an early 6-4 deficit with six straight points, moving ahead 10-6 as Jacey Young, Reagan Nelson and Lucy Arndt recorded kills during the stretch. Southeast Missouri added another separation point later, turning a 14-10 edge into an 18-10 lead with Megan Holder serving and blocks involving Katherine St. John and Alaina Lester contributing to the run. Marin Johnson closed the set with a kill as the Redhawks finished off a 25-14 win.

SEMO leaned on Reagan Nelson's attack in the second set, as Nelson finished with six kills, including the final point in a 25-22 win. A key separation came on Marin Johnson's serve, when Johnson delivered back-to-back aces and Katherine St. John and Young combined on a block as the Redhawks reached 12-6. Lindenwood (15-3, 5-1 OVC) cut the margin to 24-22 late before Nelson's kill from Holder closed the set.

Southeast Missouri cut a 21-14 deficit to 23-21 in the third set, with Johnson delivering back-to-back kills off Ellie Burns assists to finish that push. The Lions held on from there, and after Lucy Arndt's late kill made it 24-22, SEMO dropped the set 25-22.

The Redhawks seized control of the fourth set with an 8-0 start, with Nelson serving seven straight points after Alaina Lester's opening kill. The run included blocks involving Lester, Katherine St. John and Arndt before St. John finished it with a kill from Holder. SEMO maintained the margin from there, getting late kills from Nelson, Arndt and Young before closing the set 25-13.
 

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SOUTHERN INDIANA 3, MOREHEAD STATE 0
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Volleyball swept (3-0) Morehead State University for this season's Breast Cancer Awareness Pink Out match, moving to 2-2 in Ohio Valley Conference play and 7-9 overall this season.
 
The Screaming Eagles opened the match with a strong first-set performance, with four team blocks that kept Morehead State hitting below .000. Setter Aysa Thomas ran a balanced offense, getting kills to five of her hitters, and she picked up seven digs to lead the back row. As a team, the Screaming Eagles picked up 21 digs in the first frame. Freshman Vita Sensenbrenner was one of three Screaming Eagles with three kills and remained errorless on five attempts.
 
The intensity ramped up in the second set, which saw extra points. Sophomore Carley Wright landed five kills to lead the offense, and senior Ashby Willis added four to her kill count. Each USI player had at least one dig on the board by the end of the frame, led by junior libero Audrey Small, who added five in the set.
 
In the match's most competitive set, the Screaming Eagles battled through 11 tie scores and nine lead changes to complete the sweep in the end. Freshman Aubrey Fair had her best set of the match, adding six kills to lead the court. Small picked up another eight digs, followed by Willis with six. Wright swung the momentum with two timely service aces to help get USI over the finish line.
 
For the match, Thomas dished out 25 assists and picked up 14 digs to mark a double-double. Sophomore Mackenzie Nettles continued her dominance at the net, helping lead the team to six blocks.
 
The offense was led by Fair, Wright, and Willis, who each added 10 kills. The Screaming Eagles kept pressure on MSU from the service line with eight total aces, Wright and junior Kerigan Fehr each dropped three in each.
 

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EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, UT MARTIN 0
MARTIN, Tenn. - Eastern Illinois closes out the weekend in dominating fashion, sweeping UT Martin 3-0. The Panthers improve to 3-14 (2-4 OVC), while the Skyhawks fall to 7-10 (2-4 OVC). Ariadna Pereles reached an impressive milestone, surpassing the 1,000-career dig mark in a Panthers uniform. She is the 30th player in EIU history to join the 1,000+ dig club.  

The Panthers offense started the afternoon strong, jumping out of the gate to a 15-8 advantage. For the match, Eastern Illinois was much improved, totaling 37 kills with a .242 hitting percentage. EIU maintained the momentum, propelling their lead to seven (20-13), sparking a mini 3-0 scoring run. Inching closer to the finish line, a Kaeden Kox kill and an Ariadna Pereles service ace moved the Panthers to within two. EIU capped off the first set with a stuff from Foxx and Alana Guibert to win 25-16. Guibert totaled a match-best five blocks in the match.  

Both teams clashed to begin set two, but the Panthers broke through before the media timeout, holding a commanding 15-10 lead. EIU set the tone once again offensively, with a match-high 0.276 hitting percentage and 13 kills. Following the scheduled break, Katie Kopshever went back-to-back kills directed by Alanays Nieves. Kopshever finished with a match-best 13 kills and a .458 hitting percentage. EIU kept the Skyhawks at arm's length, keeping a steady five-point lead heading into the final stage of the set. The Panthers capitalized on UT Martin's eight miscues to face no trouble, closing the second set with Alanys Nieves' service ace.  

EIU dominated the closing set, surging to a reckoning 18-8 lead. The Panther defense kept the Skyhawks offense in check, totaling nine blocks and 44 digs. UT Martin recorded only 29 kills and a 0.058 hitting percentage in the match. The Skyhawks attempted a late rally, closing the deficit to 23-17, led by Luli Arucci, who led UT Martin in kills (12), aces (1), and blocks (5). However, EIU cut the comeback short after Abana Teran smashed her sixth kill of the game. Following a Skyhawks point, Guibert closed the match with her fifth block of the day to move the Panthers into the winning column.
 

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SIUE 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE volleyball earned their way back into the win column this weekend, defeating Tennessee State in back-to-back sweeps at home in First Community Arena.

The Cougars opened the weekend with their first straight-set victory Friday night, taking the sets 25-16, 25-22 and 25-12. The first two sets saw SIUE battle the Tigers through the midway point of each set before putting together three separate scoring runs of four or more points to take control of the lead. SIUE's biggest push came in the second set, when the Cougars scored six consecutive points after trailing 22-19 to pull away and claim the set.

SIUE carried that momentum into the third set, limiting Tennessee State to just three total kills while recording 13 of their own to claim the set and complete the sweep.

Kennedy Pike led SIUE offensively in Friday's match with 12 kills on 19 attempts without an error, finishing with a .632 hitting percentage. Vienna Elliott added seven kills while hitting .500, and junior Jehireh Williams contributed a season-high seven kills along with three blocks.

The Cougars continued their strong play in Saturday's rematch, hitting .243 as a team and recording 42 total kills. Similar to Friday's contest, the teams traded points early in each set before SIUE put together scoring runs of four or more points to take the advantage. The Cougars closed out the weekend series with a 7-0 run in the third set, overcoming a 20-18 deficit to claim a 25-20 victory and complete the second sweep.

Sophie Robinson led the Cougar offense Saturday with 12 kills while hitting .333. Karli Mann added six kills on 13 attempts, finishing with a .462 hitting percentage.

The two sweeps improve SIUE to 3-3 in Ohio Valley Conference play.