2017 Redhawks Invitational
Tournament Information
Dates: Sept. 1-2, 2017
Teams: Southeast Missouri State, Morgan State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Evansville
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Arena: Show Me Center
Friday, Sept. 1, 2017
Match Information, Tournament Game 2
Southeast Missouri (1-2)
vs. Morgan State (0-3)
Start Time: 12:30 p.m., CT
Series: First Meeting in Program History
Media Information
Live Stats:
GoSoutheast.com
Live Stream:
OVC Digital Network
Match Information, Tournament Game 4
vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-3)
Start Time: 7 p.m., CT
Series: First Meeting in Program History
Media Information
Live Stats:
GoSoutheast.com
Live Stream:
OVC Digital Network
Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017
Match Information, Tournament Game 6
vs. Evansville (3-0)
Start Time: 2 p.m., CT
Series: SEMO leads 16-6
Media Information
Live Stats:
GoSoutheast.com
Live Stream:
OVC Digital Network
Follow the Redhawks on Twitter for in-match updates
@SEMOvb
Complete Match Notes:
GoSoutheast.com
Morgan State Match Notes
Evansville Match Notes
Show Me the Home Opener
Southeast hosts the Redhawks Invitational for the team's home opener this weekend at the Show Me Center. SEMO welcomes the Morgan State Bears, the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions and the Evansville Purple Aces to Cape Girardeau for the two-day tournament. The Redhawks face Morgan State in their first tournament match on Sept. 1 at 12:30 p.m. followed by a 7 p.m. contest against the Golden Lions. Southeast takes on Evansville at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 2 to finish the tournament.
Third Annual Redhawks Invitational
SEMO opens their home schedule with the third annual Redhawks Invitational presented by Drury Hotels. The Redhawks kicked off both the 2015 and 2016 campaigns with the Redhawks Invitational. Southeast lost all three of its matches in 2015 to Arkansas State, St. Louis and Missouri-Kansas City. Arkansas State won the 2015 tournament with a perfect 3-0 record. Last season, the tournament moved to the Show Me Center from Houck Field House and featured a 3-1 Redhawks victory in the home opener over New Orleans. SEMO lost its next two matches to tournament champion, Illinois-Chicago, and Louisiana Tech. Senior
Nzingha Clarke was named to the All-Tournament Team in 2015 and last year senior
Krissa Gearring and
Jade Mortimer received that honor.
New Orleans Invitational Recap
Southeast posted a 1-2 record at the New Orleans Invitational in Louisiana to start the 2017 season. The Redhawks dropped the first tournament match to eventual champion, Fordham, 1-3, before they defeated Alcorn State in straight sets to close out the first day of the tournament. SEMO lost to tournament host, New Orleans, in a tough fought five-set match on Saturday, Aug. 26.
Nzingha Clarke and junior outside hitter
Madeline Grimm were named to the 2017 New Orleans Invitational All-Tournament Team. Clarke recorded 28 points in New Orleans and led the team with a .366 hitting clip and 12 blocks, averaging a block per set. She also recorded 21 kills. Grimm compiled 20 kills including a season-high 12 kills against New Orleans along with four assists, two aces, 12 digs and four blocks for 24 points.
Scouting the Opponents
Bears (0-3)
Morgan State enters the weekend after going winless at the Spartan Demon Deacon Classic in Greensboro, N.C. The Bears only won one set at the tournament and that was against Massachusetts-Lowell in the final match of the weekend. Morgan State also lost to Wake Forest and North Carolina in Greensboro. The Bears are currently led on offense by junior outside hitter Cristen Coryatt who posted 31 points over the weekend with 27 kills (3 kills/set). Morgan State was pegged to finish third in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) North Division this season and tallied a 7-21 (7-5 MEAC North) overall mark in 2016 for third in the conference. The Bears return eight letterwinners including five starters from last year's team. The team also features six newcomers. Head coach Ramona Riley-Bozier returns for her 30
th season with Morgan State.
Golden Lions (1-3)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff opened the 2017 season with three losses to LSU, South Florida and Northwestern at the USF Invitational in Tampa, Fla. The Golden Lions won their first match of the new campaign on Tuesday with a straight sets victory over Central Baptist College in APB's home opener. Freshman Kaitlyn Hapke led the team with nine kills, four digs and two blocks in the victory with a .368 hitting percentage. Sophomore Kendalle Howard added eight kills and one ace in the victory and is one of the team's top returners. Lauren Corby and Taylor Burrall also return from the 2016 team that posted a 9-17 (9-9 SWAC) record and fell in the Southwestern Athletic Conference quarterfinals to Southern. Corby contributed 222 digs, 165 kills and 65 blocks in 2016 and Burrall led the team with 77 blocks along with 142 kills.
Purple Aces (3-0)
Evansville travels to Cape Girardeau with a perfect 3-0 record after the Purple Aces captured the 2017 Leatherneck Invitational with wins over Chicago State, Manhattan and Western Illinois in Macomb, Ill. Senior middle blocker Cathy Schreiber was named the tournament MVP while freshman defensive specialist/libero Cassie Brooks and junior rightside hitter/outside hitter Rocio Fortuny earned All-Tournament accolades. Schreiber notched 35 kills over the weekend with a team-best .377 hitting clip. Brooks added 74 digs and averaged 6.17 digs per set and Fortuny chipped in 29 kills, 12 digs and six blocks at WIU. Evansville returns six starters from 2016 with 10 letterwinners overall. The Purple Aces went 5-26 (1-17 MVC) to finish 10
th in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Series History
The Redhawks face the Morgan State Bears and Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions in Southeast Missouri volleyball's first-ever meeting with the two schools. SEMO faces the Evansville Purple Aces in the Redhawks Invitational finale in the 23
rd meeting between the two teams. Southeast leads the all-time series record 16-6 but fell to the Purple Aces in their most recent match on Sept. 5, 2016, 25-20, 29-31, 21-25, 25-10, 9-15, in Evansville, Ind.
Krissa Gearring led the team with 23 kills and added 10 digs.
Madeline Grimm chipped in 22 kills and
Nzingha Clarke posted 17. Evansville won the initial meeting 3-1 in 1983 before SEMO rallied off nine straight wins from 1984 to 1988. Southeast last beat UE on Sept. 8, 2012 in straight sets, 25-9, 26-24, 25-11 in St. Louis, Mo.
Milestones for Gearring
Senior outside hitter
Krissa Gearring is poised to eclipse the 1000 mark in both career kills and digs as a Redhawk. Gearring posted 13 kills and seven digs in the opening weekend in New Orleans to increase her career totals to 980 kills and 973 digs, respectively. The Bolingbrook, Ill. native needs 20 kills and 27 digs this weekend at the Redhawks Invitational at the Show Me Center to join the 1000 club in kills and digs.
Roster Breakdown
The Redhawks squad includes 15 student-athletes with the bulk of the team made up of upperclassmen (five seniors and five juniors). Nine members from the 2016 team returnthis season with four returnees being regular starters last season. The 2017 roster features five newcomers, two of which are true freshman and the other three players transferring from other institutions.
OVC Preseason
SEMO was chosen to finish ninth in the 2017 Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll. The Redhawks received 70 points in the survey voted on by OVC Coaches and Sports Information Directors. Belmont was picked as the 2017 preseason favorite. The Bruins garnered 10 of the 24 first place votes for 223 points. Austin Peay (214 points) finished second with six first-place votes. SIUE (199 points) took two first-place votes for third and 2016 OVC Champion, Murray State, (188 points) received six first-place votes to place fourth. Senior outside hitter
Krissa Gearring and senior middle blocker
Nzingha Clarke were both named to the 2017 Preseason All-OVC Team.
Looking Ahead
The Redhawks play their first home match of the season at Houck Field House on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 4, against Western Illinois at 4 p.m. Southeast then travels to Des Moines, Iowa for the Drake Tournament where they will face Montana, Drake, and Omaha. SEMO makes a stop in Carbondale, Ill. for a meeting with rival, Southern Illinois, on Sept. 12 before participating in the Chicago State Tournament Sept. 15-16 to conclude nonconference play. The Redhawks open the conference schedule on the road on Sept. 19 against Tennessee Martin.
