Complete Match Notes
 
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The Redhawks travel to Columbia, Mo. Friday to take part in their final preseason tournament of the 2013 season. Southeast is slated to take on Towson, Middle Tennessee, Samford, and host-school Missouri in the two-day tournament.
 
Let's Review
Southeast Missouri opened the 2013 home schedule with a close, five-set win over in-state rival UMKC Wednesday.  Colleen Yarber tied a season-high 20 kills in the match with Emily Coon posting the same amount with a .515 hitting percentage. Julie Shives assisted a career-high 60 kills. Berkley Idel came up one dig short of tying a career-high with 28. As a team, Southeast had 12 blocks and hit .260 in the five-set match.
 
A Look Ahead
After the Mizzou Classic, the Redhawks will gear up for the start of Ohio Valley Conference play. The Panthers of Eastern Illinois will come to Cape Girardeau on Sept. 27 followed by SIUE on Sept. 28. On Friday, Sept. 27, Southeast Missouri will attempt to break the volleyball home attendance record of 1,168 last set on Nov. 9, 1993 against Murray State; Southeast won, 3-1. 900 T-shirts will be given out to students and Southeast Missouri Recreation Services is donating bleachers to be put on the floor of Houck for students. The last time bleachers were placed on the floor of Houck was the last time the record was set nearly 20 years ago.
 
Playing a Wall
Southeast Missouri leads the OVC in blocks with 95 (37 solo, 116 assisted). This comes after Taylor Masterson had a career-high 11 blocks against SIU at the Kansas State Tournament. Masterson ranks second the OVC in blocking (1.02 blocks/s). The Redhawks also rank third in digs (16.98 digs/s). Berkley Idel (4.56 digs/s) ranks in the top-five in digging.  Idel tied a career-high 29 digs against IUPUI on Sept. 14.
 
Scouting Trip
The Towson Tigers currenly hold a 5-8 record this season with wins over Saint Francis U, Coppin State, Binghamton and Northern Arizona. Last weekend in Albuquerque, N.M., the Tigers defeated Northern Arizona while falling to Abilene Christian and host New Mexico. Saitaua Iosia leads Towson in kills per set with 3.12. Kelsey Polak has posted a team-best 7.14 assists per set, while Paige Sekerak has tallied a team-leading 3.54 digs per set.
 
The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders come into this weekend's tournament with a 6-4 overall record. They are hitting .215 as a team, led by Chelsea Ross, who averages 3.33 kills/set, but has just a .170 attack percentage. The Raiders average 2.53 blocks/set.
 
The Samford Bulldogs went 2-2 last weekend at the Kennesaw State Invite after losses to Coastal Carolina and host Kennesaw State and wins against Stony Brook and OVC foe Tennessee Tech. The Bulldogs are 7-5 this season. Senior Katie Murphy tallied her 1,000th career kill on Saturday becoming the 10th player to that mark in Samford history. Samford averages 13.4 kills per set on 12.1 assists per set.
 
The Missouri Tigers remains undefeated this season after going 3-0 at the Rice Invitational in Houston last weekend. The Tigers lead the nation in hitting percentage at .375 and are second in assists per set with 14.60 assists/set. Whitney Little is the nation's leader in hitting percentage at .569, while Molly Kreklow leads the nation in assists per set at 12.83.
 
Series Histories
Fridays meeting between the Redhawks and Tigers of Towson will be the first in their histories.
 
As a former member of the OVC, Southeast has done battle with Middle Tennessee many times. Southeast holds a strong 20-3 advantage over the Blue Raiders. On Aug. 30, 2008, MTSU swept the Redhawks in three sets.
 
Southeast Missouri holds a perfect 10-0 record against the Bulldogs of Samford. The Redhawks and Bulldogs last met Sept. 5, 2009 and Southeast took the match in five sets.
 
Mizzou is the only team in the tournament that Southeast has a losing record against (3-10). The Tigers have a four-game winning streak on Southeast; the Redhawks last beat Missouri on Sept. 11, 1999. It has almost been a decade since the Redhawks and Tiger last did battle on the volleyball court.