Cape Girardeau, Mo. - The Redhawks will open Ohio Valley Conference play this weekend as Southeast will head to Eastern Illinois, Friday evening at 7:00 pm. The match can be seen on OVCSports.TV. Southeast will then visit SIU Edwardsville for a Saturday afternoon match up at 2:00 pm. Live stats will be available for both games by visiting the respective schools websites.

Road Warriors

The Redhawks open the season with a 13-game slate away from Houck Field house in 2011. Southeast will take part in three tournaments: Memphis Invitational, Indiana Tournament and Evansville Tournament to open the season. Southeast will also visit Arkansas State in a non-conference tilt. The Redhawks will close out their road swing with trips to OVC foes Eastern Illinois and SIU Edwardsville before opening their home schedule against Murray State on September 20th.

Conference Openers

The Redhawks hold a 12-7 record in OVC opener since 1992. the Redhawks enjoyed a four year stint of opening weekend victories from 1994 to 1997. Southeast is looking to match that streak at Eastern Illinois Friday evening as the Redhawks have recorded three straight OVC opener victories dating back to 2008.

New Threat

Brittney Kalinoksi, a junior from Overland Park, Kan., has developed into an offensive threat for the Redhawks. Kalinoksi has 115 kills on the season to lead Southeast. She had a career-high 17 kills against Evansville last Friday night at the Dunn Hospitality Invitational.

All Around Effort

Sophomore Julie Shives had an outstanding weekend for the Redhawks at the Dunn Hospitality Invitational. Shives was named to the All-Tournament Team as the Hillard, Ohio native had 107 set assists over the weekend. Shives also posted a career-high 20 digs in the against Evansville Friday Evening. Shives also contributed to the offense by adding 15 kills over the three game span.

Career Weekend

Many Redhawks had career matches last weekend. Against Evansville, Brittney Kalinoski finished with a career-high 17 kills. Sophomore Emily Coon had a career night as well adding 15 kills. Freshman Kelsey Keeve also added a career-high 12 kills. Defensively,  Junior Samantha Lowman had a career-high 24 digs. Fellow junior, Karlee Lursen tied a career-high with 20 digs. On Saturday, against UIC, Sophomore Andrea Baylin had a career-high 21 digs. Julie Shives added a career-high 20 digs against the Flames.

The Dig on Eastern Illinois

The Panthers come into the weekend sporting a 2-8 overall record. EIU holds wins over Chicago State (3-0) and Coppin State (3-1). Eastern Illinois was in action last weekend at the Hooiser Classic in Bloomington, Ind. The Panthers dropped three contests falling to Niagara (3-1), Gonzaga (3-2) and Indiana (3-0).

Eastern Illinois is hitting .130 on the season averaging 10.4 kills per set. The Panthers are averaging 9.6 set assists per set and 1.5 service aces per set. Defensively, EIU is averaging 10.9 digs per set and 1.4 blocks per set.

Emily Franklin, who is averaging 2.46 kills per set, leads the Panthers offensively. Franklin is hitting .108 on the season. Katie Kirby is averaging 2.41 kills per set and is second on the team with 89 kills. Defensively, Brittany Wallace has a team-high 129 digs on the season, averaging 3.49 per set. Alison Berens has 17 blocks on the season to lead the Panthers.

The Dig on SIU Edwardsville

The Cougars head into the weekend carrying a 5-6 overall record. The Cougars hold wins over Western Illinois, Arkansas- Pine Bluff, Savannah State, Indiana State and Canisius. Last weekend, SIUE dropped a pair of matches falling to Bowling Green (3-1) and Michigan State (3-0).

SIUE is hitting .195 as a team on the season. The Cougars are averaging 12.7 kills per set. SIUE is averaging 11.8 set assists per set and 1.8 service aces per set. Defensively, The Cougars are averaging 15.2 digs per frame and 1.1 blocks per set.

Jessica Hemann, who is averaging 2.05 kills per frame on 88 kills, leads the Cougars offensively. Cori Harris contributes to the Cougars balanced attack with two kills per set. Kelsey Augustine has 81 kills on the season averaging 1.89 kills per frame. Defensively, Julia Whitfield averages 2.58 digs per set and Harris averages 2.51 digs per frame. Hermann leads SIUE in blocks with 25 on the season.