MARTIN, Tenn. – SIUE volleyball used a pair of marathon set wins Saturday to collect a 25-21, 13-25, 37-35, 28-26 road triumph at UT Martin.

Hope Everett led the Cougars with 13 kills and six blocks, including four solo blocks. Dylynn Otte and Rachel McDonald added 11 and 10 kills, respectively.

"We did a great job staying balanced today," said SIUE Head Coach Kendall Paulus. "The team had a lot of energy and composure, which allows us to stay loose in the tight sets."

UT Martin, which dropped to 12-16 overall and 5-9 in the Ohio Valley Conference, picked up 18 kills from Megan Fair.

"We knew this match would be a fight because of how balanced they are as well," said Paulus.

UT Martin edged SIUE 59-58 in kills and also recorded nine service aces.

"We were challenged in the serve receive, and it was great to see us respond," added Paulus.

After a lengthy set three, SIUE's responded once again with a comeback in set four. Paulus called a timeout down 23-21 and the Cougars would win the next three points off the serve of Jordyn Klein to go up 24-23. UT Martin snapped back and gained two set points before the Cougars forced two attack errors from the Skyhawks offense.

With the win, SIUE secured a spot in the OVC Tournament coming up in two weeks. SIUE is now 8-6 in OVC action and 9-17 overall.