Oct. 4, 2007

Box Score

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Four players tallied double-doubles as Southeast Missouri State volleyball came back from an early two-game deficit to capture a 3-2 (24-30, 25-30, 30-27, 30-28, 15-9) victory over host Austin Peay in an Ohio Valley Conference match tonight at the Dunn Center. The Redhawks hiked their season record to 9-10 (5-4) and the Lady Govs fell to 7-12 (2-5) on the year.

Freshman outside hitter Claire Keaton (St. Louis, Mo./Incarnate Word) produced a career-best 17 kills and a .548 hitting percentage with 14 digs, while sophomore right side hitter Karleigh DeLong (Corona, Calif./Santiago) contributed 16 kills and 21 digs for Southeast. Junior outside hitter Aubrey Dondlinger (Palos Heights, Ill./Parkland CC) posted 14 kills and 14 digs, sophomore setter Sarah Barth (Germantown, Ill./Central) recorded 53 assists and 10 kills, and junior middle blocker Kim Unnerstall (Washington, Mo./St. Francis Borgia) added a career-best 10 kills.

In the first game, the Lady Govs broke an early 4-4 tie with a 17-9 run to claim a 21-13 advantage on a kill from freshman Jessica Mollman. Southeast regrouped with a 10-5 run of its own that cut their deficit to 26-23 on an Austin Peay hitting error, but the home team scored four of the final five points to gain a 1-0 lead.

The Redhawks opened the second stanza with a 3-1 advantage on a DeLong service ace before both teams battled through three ties. Kills from seniors Dodi Szymska and Leanne Kreps later handed Austin Peay a 17-11 leading margin. Southeast came back to tally 12 of the next 21 points to close within 26-23 that culminated on a kill from DeLong, but a quick 4-2 game-closing run put the Lady Govs ahead by two games entering the break.

The third game saw 13 ties and 11 lead changes before a 7-1 run boosted the visitors to a 26-20 lead, culminating with a DeLong service ace. Back-to-back kills from Szymska helped Austin Peay close within 28-27 before kills from DeLong and Dondlinger ended the stanza that sliced the Redhawks' match deficit at 2-1.

The Lady Govs produced a 10-7 lead in the fourth game behind a kill and a service ace from sophomore Kirsten Distler. Southeast later responded with an 8-1 run to post a 15-11 advantage on a solo block from Keaton, but Austin Peay scored 15 of the next 24 points to gain a 26-24 lead on a kill by Distler. A Keaton kill jumpstarted a 6-2 run that helped the visitors send the match into a deciding fifth game.

Southeast claimed an early 6-1 lead in the final game on a Keaton kill and later took a 10-4 advantage on a block from Dondlinger and Unnerstall. Kills from Distler and Szymska sliced Austin Peay's deficit to 12-6 while both teams manage to split the final six points, but a Dondlinger kill helped give the Redhawks the victory in the end.

Szymska (20 kills, 13 digs) and Distler (16 kills, 22 digs) led Austin Peay with double-double efforts, while Mollman contributed 19 kills and four block assists. Freshman Sarah Alisaleh posted a match-high 72 assists and senior Kristen Kirch added a match-best 42 digs for the Lady Govs.

The Redhawks welcome Southern Illinois to Houck Fieldhouse in a non-conference contest on Oct. 9 with a start time of 7 p.m.