Southeast Missouri (5-9, 0-0)
at UT Martin (6-7, 0-0)
Match Information
Dates: Sept. 19, 2017
First Serve: 7 p.m. CT
Location: Martin, Tenn.
Venue: Skyhawk Fieldhouse
Series: SEMO leads 59-20
 
Media Information
Live Stats: GoSoutheast.com
Video: OVC Digital Network
 
Follow the Redhawks on Twitter for in-match updates @SEMOvb
 
Complete Match Notes: GoSoutheast.com
 
Redhawks Open OVC Play at UTM
Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (5-9) opens their Ohio Valley Conference portion of their schedule on Tuesday evening when they travel to Martin, Tenn. for a 7 p.m. meeting with UT Martin at the Skyhawk Fieldhouse. SEMO compiled a 6-10 record last season in the OVC.
 
Series History
The Redhawks lead the all-time series with the Skyhawks, 59-20. Southeast won the initial meeting in 1980, 2-0, and holds a 12-10 edge over UTM since 2006. In 2016, SEMO and the Skyhawks split the series with each team's win coming at their home arena.
 
UT Martin won the 2016 series opener on Oct. 4, 2016 in five sets (25-22, 17-25, 25-20, 24-26, 15-11) at the Skyhawk Fieldhouse. Krissa Gearring led SEMO with 17 kills and Nzingha Clarke chipped in 16 kills and seven blocks.
 
Southeast was victorious in the most recent meeting on Nov. 8, 2016 at the Houck Field House. SEMO defeated UT Martin in straight sets (25-22, 25-10, 25-20) with Gearring leading the offense with 14 kills.
 
Scouting the Skyhawks (6-7)
UT Martin enters the match with a 6-7 record in their non-conference slate. Tuesday also marks the Skyhawks home opener having played all their matches on the road (1-3 away, 5-4 neutral). UTM finished second at this past weekend's Memphis Invitational with wins over Nicholls and Louisiana-Monroe before losing on Saturday to tournament host, Memphis. Junior outside hitter Megan Fair and freshman setter Kenzie Hinshaw both earned all-tournament honors. Fair tallied 33 kills (2.75 per set) over the weekend including 16 kills on Saturday. Hinshaw recorded 75 assists (6.25 per set) and 34 digs (2.83 per set) at the tournament. Fair leads the UTM offense with 133 kills (2.83 per set). Junior libero/defense specialist Brooke Gyori has compiled 215 digs (4.57 per set) and leads the Skyhawks defensively. UTM was pegged to finish last in the OVC and senior middle blocker Jemima Idemudia was named to the 2017 Preseason All-OVC Team.
 
Let's Recap
Southeast dropped four matches this past week in Illinois. The Redhawks fell in a five-set thriller to Southern Illinois in Carbondale, Ill. on Tuesday before losing three-straight matches to Wright State, Eastern Michigan and tournament host, Chicago State, in the Windy City. Mikayla Kuhlmann posted a career-high 20 kills to lead the team at SIU. Krissa Gearring led the team this week with 52 kills including a season-high 25-kill performance on Saturday against Chicago State. Gearring was named to the Chicago State Invitational All-Tournament Team and also recorded her fifth double-double of the season. SEMO is currently on a seven-match losing streak.
 
Season-Highs
Besides Gearring, five Redhawks posted season-highs in Saturday's non-conference finale at Chicago State. Defensively, Ally Dion recorded 24 digs and Marie Less chipped in 10. Setter Allie Henkelman dished out 32 assists. Haley Bilbruck and Madara Bajare each totaled season-highs in two categories. Bilbruck had four digs and nine kills and Bajare racked up seven blocks and six digs.
 
Non-Conference Recap
SEMO concluded their non-conference schedule with a 5-9 record (4-0 home, 0-4 away, 1-5 neutral). Southeast picked up its first win of the season over Alcorn State at the New Orleans Invitational and returned to Cape Girardeau, Mo. where the team rallied off four-straight wins and claimed the Redhawks Invitational Championship. The Redhawks then lost seven-straight matches at both the Drake Invitational and Chicago State Invitational with a stop at SIU sandwiched in between. SEMO is two wins away from matching their win total from last season.
 
Looking Ahead
After Tuesday's road trip to UT Martin, Southeast hosts a three-game homestand with matches against Jacksonville State (Sat., Sept. 23), Austin Peay and Murray State. The Redhawks head back on the road for four-straight matches against Eastern Illinois, SIUE, Tennessee State and Belmont.
 
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 return this 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.