MARTIN, Tenn. – SIUE volleyball improved its season record to 10-4 and 3-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference Friday with a 25-18, 23-25, 25-11, 25-16 victory at UT Martin.

It continues to be the best OVC start for the Cougars who have won three straight and nine of their last 10 matches.

Ashley Witt led SIUE hitters with 13 kills, but a balanced attack provided 57 kills overall in the four-set match. The OVC's leading offense in kills per set picked up nine kills each from Jackie Scott and Taylor Held as well as eight each from Taylor Joens and Emily Harrison.

"That's what we want," said SIUE Head Coach Leah Johnson. "We don't want to be predictable and have opponents be able to key on one particular player.

"The person I thought kept us steady tonight was Jackie Scott," said Johnson. "She was the gel tonight."

Scott was one kill away from a double-double after recording 10 digs.

Two SIUE players did finish with a double-double. Setter Mallory Mangun collected 23 assists and 13 digs. Libero Katie Shashack added 11 assists and a team-leading 20 digs.

After splitting the first two sets, the Cougars left little doubt about sets three and four. SIUE had 16 attack errors in the first two sets and just seven in the final two sets.

Between sets two and three, Johnson said she reassured her team that good passing was going to lead to good hitting.

"We talked about playing well in the first two sets, but they (UT Martin) were winning the longer rallies," said Johnson. "We had to be more crisp."

SIUE's hitting percentage improved to .375 in the third set with 14 kills. In set four, SIUE netted 16 kills and hit .314 as a team. For the match, SIUE hit .222 as a team while holding UT Martin to a .113 hitting percentage.

Jemima Idemudia led the Skyhawks with 11 kills. UT Martin dropped to 4-14 overall and 0-3 in the OVC.

SIUE's road trip continues Saturday with a 1:30 p.m. start time at Southeast Missouri.