Southeast Missouri State volleyball sweeps UT Martin but is eliminated from postseason contention

With the season winding down, Southeast Missouri State volleyball swept visiting UT Martin on Tuesday in the penultimate game of the regular season.

The Redhawks (6-23 overall, 5-10 Ohio Valley Conference) used a tight victory in the first set to jump start a 25-22, 25-10, 25-20 result at Houck Field House, the 50th career OVC win for coach Julie Yankus.

Despite the positive result, Jacksonville State's win over Tennessee Tech on Tuesday set up a tie-break scenario that eliminated Southeast from the OVC Tournament picture.

UT Martin (8-22, 4-11) took a 20-17 edge late in the first set but a Krissa Gearring kill swung momentum and SEMO pushed past to win the opener.

Southeast went on an 11-point run in the second set and never felt pressured, as the Redhawks posted a .321 hitting percentage, Gearring had six kills and Katarina Rotta notched 10 assists.

The third set wasn't as easy, but the Skyhawks struggled to a .210 hitting percentage as Southeast completed the win.

Gearring led the hosts with 14 kills in the match and Nzingha Clarke had eight with a .467 attack percentage.

Rotta finished with 20 assists while Keegan Fornoff had 14.

Jade Mortimer led the Redhawks with 17 digs, while Marie Less added 15 along with seven kills.

"I'm very proud of the way the team came together tonight," Yankus said in a news release. "Everyone stepped up and took care of their responsibilities on the court. ... I hope we can carry this momentum into our final home match on Saturday."

SEMO will wrap up the season Saturday with a 2 p.m. home match versus Tennessee Tech. Seniors Mortimer, Rotta and Madalyn Werths will be honored before the first serve.

--From staff reports