Box Score
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- Taking on a talented Southeast Missouri State team in their first conference road contest of the season, Belmont University volleyball lost in straight sets, 3-0, to open up their weekend in Cape Girardeau on Friday night.
The Bruins (4-10, 2-2 OVC) fell 20-25, 19-25, and 19-25 in a hard-fought match against one of the favorites in the Ohio Valley Conference.
SEMO used a dynamic offense to secure the sweep, hitting .311 from the floor to quiet a Belmont team that had won two of their first three OVC matches.
Belmont largely played mistake-free volleyball, only committing 15 attack errors on the night, but couldn't challenge the red-hot Redhawks enough defensively to take a set.
"While the outcome wasn't the way we wanted it, we did a good job of being low-error," Belmont head coach Katelyn Harrison said. "This was a physical team that played phenomenal defense, and our attackers had to work really hard for every kill."
"I thought Rachel did a good job playing defense tonight and had the second-highest dig total for the match for both sides," Harrison said.
In the first set, Belmont trailed by two at 12-14 before SEMO slowly started to pull away. Back to back Shoopman kills gave the Bruins momentum and cut it to a 19-23 deficit for the visitors, but the Redhawks lead was too much as SEMO picked up a 25-20 set win.
Belmont hit an efficient .242 in the second set, but SEMO shined even brighter with a dominant .375 performance, rolling to a 25-19 win on the back of a 10-1 run in the heart of the frame.
The Bruins fought back and nearly forced a fourth set with a gritty Game 3, tying things at 13-13 shortly before the media timeout. Yet, SEMO once again wore down the Bruins with extended rallies and big swings from two-time All-OVC performer Laney Malloy, who finished with 18 kills.
"SEMO is a championship team and they showed that maturity the entire match," Harrison said. "I thought our team did a good job showing fight and playing hard until the last whistle blew. Ultimately, we have some work to do and adjustments to make for tomorrow's match."
Belmont will get a rematch with Southeast Missouri State on Saturday afternoon back inside the Houck Field House. First serve is set for 2 p.m. The contest will be streamed live on ESPN+, and live stats will be available.
Follow Belmont volleyball on social media - @BelmontVB on Twitter and @belmontvball on Instagram - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
