Southeast Missouri State volleyball team prevails in OVC tournament opener

~ Southeast advances to face top-seeded Eagles

The Southeast Missouri State volleyball team notched an opening-round victory during its first trip to the Ohio Valley Conference tournament since 2008.

Fourth-seeded Southeast beat fifth-seeded Eastern Kentucky 25-14, 25-20, 22-25, 25-22 on Thursday at the six-team event in Morehead, Ky.

It was the first OVC tournament win for Southeast since 2006. The Redhawks (14-18) won all three meetings with the Colonels (14-18) in four games this year.

"We came out fired up and ready to prove something tonight. We were very aggressive and forced them to struggle," first-year Southeast coach Julie Folliard said.

Sophomore Emily Coon, who was named all-OVC the previous day, led Southeast with a career-high 18 kills and six blocks. She hit .467 in 30 attacks.

"She did a great job of swinging high and cut angles," Folliard said. "The team did a great job to keep the ball in system and get the ball to her."

Junior Brittney Kalinoski added 11 kills.

Senior Paige Dossey paced the Redhawks in digs with 16. She added seven kills while hitting a career-high .500.

"She swung away and was aggressive. She swung down the line, and defensively she wouldn't let anything hit the ground," Folliard said.

Sophomore Berkley Idel recorded 14 digs, and sophomore Andrea Baylin had 12.

Sophomore setter Julie Shives recorded 45 assists, nine digs and six kills.

Southeast advanced to play host Morehead State, the top seed and OVC regular-season champion, in today's 6 p.m. semifinal.

The Eagles rolled to the title with a 19-1 conference record. They won both meetings from Southeast this year, including a five-game victory at home.

Thursday's other first-round match saw third-seeded Tennessee-Martin rally past sixth-seeded Jacksonville State 23-25, 16-25, 27-25, 25-20, 15-12.

Second-seeded Tennessee State, which received an opening-round bye like Morehead State, plays Tennessee-Martin in today's other semifinal.

The championship match is set for 5 p.m. Saturday. The winner earns the league's automatic NCAA tournament berth.