Nashville, Tenn. --- The Tennessee State University volleyball team won its second straight match after defeating Southeast Missouri State University, 3-2, Saturday afternoon in Kean Hall.

Tennessee State (10-4, 6-3 OVC) opened the match up with a win over Southeast Missouri (8-12, 6-3 OVC) before dropping the next two. The Tigers bounced back to win the fourth set before claiming the victory in a dramatic set five.

The set scores were: 25-22, 19-25, 22-25, 25-21 and 15-11.

Shaquita Williams paced the TSU offense with 22 kills while Danielle Howell added 13. Terakka Walker led the Tigers with 18 digs while Britani Hathorn and Erika Moss added 16 and 10 digs, respectively.

Karson Lursee led SEMO with 11 kills while Brittney Kalinoski added 10. Julie Shives and Samantha Lowman both tallied 14 digs for SEMO.

The score was tied when TSU used a small run, including kills from Rachel Ambroch and Danielle Howell, to grab a 16-13 lead. The Tigers continued to rally and increased the advantage to 21-14 behind a block assist by Terakka Walker and Danielle Howell.

TSU was leading 24-19 when three straight points from SEMO chopped the lead down to just two.   The Tigers, however, kept the Redhawks at bay and claimed the set, 25-22.

The second set saw SEMO get out to a, 5-1, lead.  Later in the frame, TSU cut the deficit down to two but the Redhawks opened the lead back up to 16-9. The Tigers put together a rally that narrowed the gap down to one, 20-19, but the Redhawks posted five unanswered points to close out the frame and capture the win.

Much like the second set, SEMO got out to a fast start in the third frame. A service ace by Ashley Hamilton made the score, 14-7, in favor of the visitors before SEMO stretched the advantage to 17-11. The Tigers used a 5-0 run to pull to within one, 17-16, but the Redhawks answered with a run to go up, 22-16. The Tigers wouldn't go away and clawed back to within one, 23-22, but SEMO managed to escape with the, 25-22, win.

TSU had the momentum early in the fourth set after jumping out to a 10-4 lead. SEMO cut the deficit down to three twice before pulling to within one, 18-17. The Tigers responded with four unanswered points to build the lead up to, 22-17. TSU won the set 25-21 to force a fifth set.

The deciding set was a battle. TSU held on to a slight, 8-5, lead at the halfway mark but SEMO pulled to within one, 9-8, shortly after. A few moments later the Tigers used a rally to go ahead, 12-9. SEMO used a timeout in an attempt to slow the Tigers down but it wasn't enough. TSU finished strong and captured the 15-11 win.  

Tennessee State returns to action on the road at Austin Peay on Tuesday, Oct. 11. Match time is slated for 6 p.m. in the Dunn Center.