CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo.  -  SIUE volleyball dropped its series opener at Southeast Missouri on Friday night, falling to the Redhawks in straight sets (19-25, 19-25, 17-25).

The opening set saw the Redhawks storm out to an early lead that proved too much for the visitors to overcome, despite trading blows following the 15-point media timeout. The story would repeat itself in the second set, as SEMO put together an early 9-2 scoring run that put the set out of reach. The Cougars continued to trade points back and forth following a timeout, but the SIUE comeback effort fell just short, as the Cougars fell by the same margin as the first set. The third set followed a similar path as the first two, the Cougars could not overcome an early 10-5 SEMO scoring run, dropping the third set 25-17.

As a team, the Cougars hit .081, but the defense held SEMO to under .300. The Cougars led the match in service aces with five, with Leila Manaois leading SIUE with a pair to her credit. Individually, Annie Ellis continued her dominant run of form, registering eight kills for a .353 clip and five total blocks. Julia Treichel was not far behind with seven kills in the contest, while true freshman Ainsley Ranstead added five. Alyse Drifka led the Red & White with 19 assists, while Nicole Kijowski donned the libero kit and notched 12 digs on the night.

The Cougars, who drop to 6-13 overall and 2-6 in OVC play, will close out the series with a Saturday night contest against the 16-5 Redhawks. First serve in Cape Girardeau is scheduled for 7 p.m. tomorrow.