UT Martin sweeps Southeast Missouri State volleyball team

The Southeast Missouri State volleyball team was swept by visiting UT Martin on Tuesday night as the Redhawks dropped to 5-11 and 1-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

The Skyhawks defeated Southeast 26-24, 25-19, 25-21 at Houck Field House.

Southeast led by as many as five points in the opening set and had a 23-20 advantage, but a 4-0 Skyhawks spurt gave them their first lead of the game since they were ahead 1-0.

A block by Jessica McElderry and Marie Less following a Southeast timeout tied it at 24-24, but a Skyhawks block and kill by Lael Ceriani, who finished the match with nine kills, ended it.

The Redhawks trailed 17-15 in the second set before UTM scored 8 of the final 12 points to win it.

In the third set, Southeast faced a 16-9 deficit before going on a 7-1 run, featuring three kills by Madeline Grimm, to pull within a point at 17-16.

The final set was then tied at 20 and 21 before a 4-0 run that included a pair of Redhawks attack errors gave UTM (6-14, 2-1 OVC) the three-set victory.

Grimm led Southeast with 11 kills, while Nizingha Clarke hit .400 and had 10 kills.

The Redhawks travel to Cookeville, Tennessee, on Saturday for a 2 p.m. match against Tennessee Tech.

Blankenheim honored

Southeast sophomore Paige Blankenheim was named the OVC's defensive player of the week for the second time this season on Tuesday.

Blankenheim, a midfielder and defender, helped the Redhawks post a pair of shutouts to open conference play this weekend.

She played the entire 110-minute double overtime game against SIU Edwardsville that ended with a 0-0 tie on Friday night and played 45 minutes in the Redhawks' 5-0 defeat of Eastern Illinois on Sunday.

Southeast allowed only five shots on goal combined in the two games.

Blankenheim had two assists in the rout of the visiting Panthers.

Southeast (6-3-2, 1-0-1 OVC) plays at Austin Peay on Friday and at Murray State on Sunday.