EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – It was only appropriate that two seniors stood next to one another on the winning point.

With senior Kelsey Augustine at her side, fellow senior Cori Harris put her tip inbounds on the final point as SIUE volleyball earned a 26-24, 18-25, 25-17, 25-16 victory over Jacksonville State at the Vadalabene Center.

The Cougars honored seniors Augustine, Harris, and Hilary Trevino before the match. SIUE Head Coach said Trevino was an emotional leader on the bench after not being able to suit up for the weekend. Augustine and Harris, meanwhile, lifted the Cougars on the court.

"She (Harris) stayed so steady from the serve receive. She never got frazzled and that allowed the rest of the team to perform well," said Johnson. Harris finished with nine kills and the second most digs with 17.

Augustine led all players with 16 kills and was in on all three SIUE blocks. Johnson said Jacksonville State had no choice but to track Augustine as she had nine of her kills in the final two sets. "She literally put pressure on them every point."

SIUE's middle hitters both had a strong match. Sophomore Kristen Torre added 15 kills, including seven in set four, and completed the match with a team-leading .424 hitting percentage.

"I was very pleased with the competitor and fighter mentality we had and that translated in every point, every dig, and every aggressive serve," said Johnson.

Liza Pfugradt and Emily Rutherford led the Gamecocks, now 11-18 overall and 4-10 in the OVC, with 10 kills each.

SIUE, which has recorded more kills than its opponent in five out of its last six matches, put together 60 kills against the Gamecocks. Freshman Alicia Streetar started slow but ended up with 11 kills for the Cougars, now 11-16 overall and 7-7 in the OVC.

"We're creating our own points, our own wins, and our own effort. That's the difference right now, and that's a great place to be at the end of the season," said Johnson.

The Cougars hit .179 as a team with 29 errors. SIUE also won the digs battle 93-77. Chelsea Colclasure led the Cougars with 23 kills.

"We do need to be more efficient than we were today," said Johnson. "It will be hard to be as efficient as we were last night. We need to find that good medium where we are playing steady from start to finish."

SIUE has one more match left at home against Eastern Illinois at a special 6 p.m. start time Tuesday. The Cougars then close out the regular season with a road matchup next Saturday at Tennessee State.