CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – SIUE Head Coach Leah Johnson said Friday's match at Southeast Missouri turned out to be a good start for a long road trip.

It was the first of five straight road Ohio Valley Conference matches for the Cougars. SEMO defeated SIUE 25-23, 25-23, 25-18.

"We had just the most incredible fight in us tonight," said Johnson.

The Cougars, 8-14 overall and 4-7 in the OVC, finished with more kills (43-42), more digs (75-68), and more blocks (7-5) against the first-place Redhawks at Houck Field House.

"They feel they can be competitive on the road," Johnson said of her team.

Kelsey Augustine and Emma Anderson led the SIUE offense with 11 kills each. Augustine added five blocks.

Johnson said it took the Cougars about 10 points to gain their footing in the first set. From there, SEMO and SIUE went toe to toe in the opening set as SEMO held its two-point advantage.

Brittney Kalinoski recorded eight of her team-leading 14 kills for SEMO. The Redhawks improved to 17-10 overall and 9-2 in the OVC.

In the second set, SIUE setter Sammi Minton spread the ball around. Right-side hitter Cori Harris led SIUE with five kills in the set followed by four from Augustine and three from Anderson. SEMO and SIUE exchanged the lead three times and were tied six times before the Redhawks took the final two points of the set.

Johnson said her team continued to have fight left in them for the third set. SEMO had to hold back a late rally from the Cougars, including a pair of blocks by Augustine and Leslie Lindsey. Johnson said never giving up after being down late will help the team in the future.

"That's respectable. That's how you get better," she said.

The Cougars now have a quick turnaround and head to Martin, Tenn., for a 2 p.m. match at UT Martin Saturday.