EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE volleyball took the series finale against Southeast Missouri State in five sets on Saturday afternoon at First Community Arena. SIUE tallied a season-high 15 total blocks, including four in the final frame en route to its first win in Ohio Valley Conference play this season. The set scores were 25-23, 18-25, 15-25, 25-21, and 15-6.

SIUE improves to 7-8 overall and 1-3 in league play. SEMO falls to 11-4 and 3-1.

"SEMO is a great team," Alyse Drifka said. "They are really good offensively and defensively. We really worked on our block touches and going for everything defensively. Our offense killed it the entire game."

The Cougars' offense came out swinging in the first set, using a .286 attack percentage on 15 kills to take the first frame. The Redhawks' offense regrouped and took advantage of a combined 15 attack errors by SIUE to win the second and third set. However, SIUE never trailed and controlled the pace of the final two frames to come out on top with the victory.

"Thank goodness we won that first set," added Paulus. "It gave us a breather and we were lucky to play into the fourth set. We gave ourselves an opportunity to rally and come out with the win."

The Cougars tallied 54 kills and concluded the match with a .147 hitting percentage. On defense, SIUE picked up a season-high 87 digs.

"It was a really fun game to be apart of," said Paulus. "The crowd was amazing. Our team worked really hard and covered off-blocker balls. We made moves that we hadn't been making previously. There were some huge defensive plays that kept us in the game."

Inside the Numbers:

• Sydney Hummert picked up a team-high 12 kills on 45 total attacks. She also contributed a season-high 17 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. The junior has picked up a double-double in three of SIUE's last five games. The outside hitter's five blocks tied a season high mark.
• Priscilla Jones led the charge at the net with seven blocks. She added 10 kills offensively, concluding the match with a team-best .360 clip.
• Chelsey Abel contributed a season-best six blocks while Bree Schreimann tied a career high with four.
• Drifka and Grace Beekman each turned in a double-double. Drifka dished out a team-high 25 assists and added 13 digs defensively. Beekman contributed 23 assists and added 10 digs.
•  Defensively, freshman Abi Banitt tied a season best mark with 24 digs. Julia Treichel also contributed double-digit digs with 15. The outside hitter tallied nine kills, one shy of a double-double.

"Our team needs to understand how good of a team SEMO is," said Paulus. "They control the ball and play great defense. We had to battle to win today and a big confidence booster."

SIUE will square off with Southern Indiana on Friday, Oct. 6 at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 7 at 2:00 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.

Stay connected with the Cougars all season long by following @SIUEVolleyball on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.