Southeast Missouri (5-10, 0-1)
vs. Jacksonville State (14-5, 1-0)
Match Information
Dates: Sept. 23, 2017
First Serve: 2 p.m. CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Venue: Houck Field House
Series: Tied 13-13
 
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
 
Home Sweet Home
Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (5-10, 0-1) continues their Ohio Valley Conference slate with a home meeting against Jacksonville State (14-5, 1-0) Saturday at 2 p.m. at Houck Field House. This is the first home contest for the Redhawks since the team's Sept. 4, Labor Day, victory over Western Illinois at Houck Field House. SEMO owns a 4-0 record in Cape Girardeau, Mo. with three wins at the Show Me Center and a win at Houck Field House. The team will sign autographs for fans at the conclusion of Saturday's match.
 
Series History
Southeast is tied in the all-time series with Jacksonville State, 13-13. The Redhawks won the first two meetings in 1986 but the Gamecocks have taken the past three meetings from 2014 to 2016. Jacksonville State won last year's match, 3-0 (25-10, 25-21, 25-12), in Jacksonville, Ala. Madeline Grimm led the Redhawks with 12 kills and Krissa Gearring added 10. SEMO was last victorious on Oct. 5, 2013 in Cape Girardeau, Mo. when it beat the Gamecocks in straight sets, 25-15, 25-17, 25-15.
 
Scouting the Gamecocks (14-5, 1-0)
Jacksonville State enters the matchup with Southeast after sweeping their OVC opener on Thursday at Tennessee Tech, 3-0 (27-25, 25-20, 25-19). Senior outside hitter Allyson Zuhlke led the offense with an 18-kill night and senior outside hitter Charis Ludtke added 14 with junior middle blocker Mackenzie Rombach chipping in 13.
 
The Gamecocks posted a 13-5 (5-0 home, 3-2 away, 5-3 neutral) record in non-conference play, which concluded on Tuesday after back-to-back matches with Alabama A&M. This past weekend Jacksonville State went 2-2 at the Bulldog Invitational at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C. losing to Winthrop and The Citadel to open the tournament before wins over Charleston Southern and Alabama A&M. Rombach was named to the Bulldog Invitational All-Tournament team after she totaled 49 kills including a 17-kill performance where she hit .500 against Winthrop in the first tournament match. Rombach also added 15 blocks.
 
Jacksonville State was chosen to finish sixth this season in the OVC preseason poll. Rombach was named to the 2017 Preseason All-OVC Team and was an All-OVC Second Team honoree in 2016.
 
Let's Recap
Southeast commenced their conference schedule with a trip to UT Martin for a meeting with the Skyhawks on Tuesday. SEMO claimed the opening set before the UT Martin Skyhawks rallied off three straight sets to take the match, 3-1 (22-25, 27-25, 25-19, 25-20). The loss extended the team's losing streak to eight matches.
 
Krissa Gearring led Southeast with 18 kills and Mikayla Kuhlmann and Nzingha Clarke each chipped in 10. Kuhlmann added 11 digs defensively for her third double-double of the season. Allie Henkelman also notched her fourth double-double of the campaign after compiling 16 assists and 10 digs. Krista Berns recorded a team-high .571 hitting percentage with nine kills and five blocks.
 
Fornoff the Facilitator
Junior setter Keegan Fornoff has dished out double-digit assists in 14 straight matches and leads the Redhawks with 316 assists (5.27 assists/set) in 2017. Fornoff recorded a season-high 35 assists against Western Illinois on Sept. 4 and has accumulated 845 assists in her Redhawks career. Fornoff notched a season-high of 422 during her freshmen campaign.
 
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
Saturday marks the first match of a three-game homestand for Southeast. SEMO faces OVC foes, Austin Peay and Murray State, in a weekend set on Sept. 29 and 30 at Houck Field House. The Redhawks then head 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.