EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE progressively played stronger throughout Friday's Ohio Valley Conference volleyball opener and downed UT Martin 25-23, 25-20, 25-10.

The Cougars improved to 5-7 overall with the sweep at the Vadalabene Center. UT Martin dropped to 4-10 overall and 0-1 in the OVC. SIUE comes back tomorrow with a 2 p.m. match at home against Southeast Missouri.

"It's nice just having a win under our belts heading into the match against SEMO, who I feel like is really playing at the top of the league right now in their style of volleyball. They're playing very clean volleyball. We're excited to host them in the opening weekend of conference," said SIUE Head Coach Leah Johnson.

The Cougars took advantage of their home court.

"It was a great night. It was so cool to see all of the Cougar athletics teams out here and friends and families. It was a very electric crowd. I am excited about the atmosphere," said Johnson.

After going up two sets to none, the momentum continued as SIUE won the first five points of the third set and ended the set with a 10-3 run.

"We had a very respectable opponent in UT Martin tonight," said Johnson. "I thought their defense was phenomenal. That is going to carry them in the second half when we see them again. I know that's going to be a battle again the second time around."

Kelsey Augustine collected five of her match-high 11 kills in the third set. Emma Anderson turned in her career best in efficiency, hitting .476 with 10 kills and no errors.

"Across the board we set a very balanced offense. We don't need to be the team where one player has four kills a set. We need to be the team where four players are getting three and four kills a set," said Johnson.

The Cougars played confident and minimized their errors against the Skyhawks. SIUE finished with 40 kills, 12 errors, and a .259 team hitting percentage. UT Martin completed the match with 35 kills, 23 errors, and a .103 hitting percentage.

SIUE's defense also controlled the net. Brianne Graunke led the Cougars with four blocks followed by three from Augustine. The Cougars also picked up a strong defensive effort from senior Brooke Smith who led all players with 18 digs.

"She (Smith) found her groove a little bit tonight. Offensively she wasn't hot at first, but she focused on her defense and passing game and then by set two that trickled back into offense and she lit it up. I was really proud that she stayed confident, and she stayed in it," Johnson said.