2017 Drake Invitational
Tournament Information
Dates: Sept. 8-9, 2017
Teams: Southeast Missouri State, Montana, Drake and Omaha
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Venue: Knapp Center
 
Friday, Sept. 8, 2017
Match Information
Southeast Missouri (5-2)
vs. Montana (3-3)
Start Time: 11 a.m., CT
Series: First Meeting in Program History
 
Media Information
Live Stats: GoSoutheast.com
 
Match Information
at Drake (5-2)
Start Time: 3 p.m., CT
Series: SEMO leads series 3-2
 
Media Information
Live Stats: GoSoutheast.com
Live Stream: ESPN3
 
Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017
Match Information
vs. Omaha Nebraska (2-4)
Start Time: 1:30 p.m., CT
Series: First Meeting in Program History
 
Media Information
Live Stats: GoSoutheast.com
 
Follow the Redhawks on Twitter for in-match updates @SEMOvb
 
Complete Match Notes: GoSoutheast.com
 
Drake Invitational
Southeast travels to Des Moines, Iowa this weekend for the Drake Invitational where they will face the Montana Grizzlies, tournament host, Drake Bulldogs, and Omaha (Nebraska) Mavericks.
 
Labor Day Recap
Southeast Missouri extended their winning streak to four matches and improved their record to 5-2 with Monday's five-set Labor Day victory over Western Illinois at Houck Field House. The Redhawks dropped the first set 25-14 before bouncing back to take the next two sets 25-18 and 25-8. Western Illinois forced a fifth set after a 25-21 fourth set win before SEMO prevailed in the final set 15-13.
 
Nzingha Clarke led the offense with 18 kills in the victory and both Krissa Gearring and Mikayla Kuhlmann each chipped in double-doubles to rally Southeast past the Leathernecks. Gearring finished the night with 17 kills and 13 digs and Kuhlmann contributed 14 kills and 11 digs.
 
September Recap
SEMO opened the month of September with four straight wins including three at the Redhawks Invitational at the Show Me Center along with a Labor Day win over WIU at Houck Field House to bring their season record to 5-2. The Redhawks started 2017 with a 1-2 record in the opening month of August and are now two wins away from matching their win total from last season.
 
Milestones for Gearring
Senior outside hitter Krissa Gearring notched her 1,000^th career kill and 1,000^th career dig as a Redhawk at the Redhawks Invitational Sept. 1-2. Gearring eclipsed the 1,000 kill mark on Friday, Sept. 1 and surpassed 1,000 digs in the tournament finale on Saturday, Sept. 2 against Evansville. She now has 1034 career kills and 1020 career digs.
 
Scouting the Opponents
Montana (3-3)
The Grizzlies come to Des Moines, Iowa after a 1-2 weekend at Utah Valley's tournament. Montana beat Long Beach State in straight sets before dropping matches to Utah Valley and Kansas, 3-0. Freshman middle blocker Baily Permann was named to the all-tournament team after she totaled 14 kills. The Griz are led on offense by redshirt-junior outside hitter Mykaela Hammer with 64 kills (3.05 k/set). Hammer also has 19 blocks this campaign.
Drake (5-2)
The tournament host Bulldogs enter the weekend with an identical record to SEMO at 5-2. This past weekend, Drake posted a 2-1 record, losing to James Madison (6-0) in their third and final Tropical Smoothie Invitational match at JMU in Harrisonburg, Va. The Bulldogs beat Hampton and Cornell in straight sets before their matchup with JMU. Freshman middle blocker/outside hitter Natalie Fry was named to the all-tournament team after she posted a team-high and career-high 14 kills and two blocks in Saturday's finale against JMU. Senior outside hitter Kyla Inderski leads the team with 76 kills (3.04 k/set) and has also added 74 digs (2.96 digs/set) and 15 blocks.
Omaha (2-4)
The Mavericks compiled both of their season wins this past weekend at the Hawkeye Classic in Iowa City, Iowa with two victories over Indiana State. Omaha lost to Iowa in straight sets in their first match on Friday and ended the tournament with a 2-1 record. Freshman middle blocker Bella Sade (49 kills, 15 blocks) and senior setter Sydney O'Shaughnessy (200 assists) were both named to the all-tournament team at Iowa. Mackenzie Horkey leads the Mavericks with 63 kills (3.0 k/set) and 61 digs (2.90 dig/set).
 
Series History
Southeast faces Montana and Omaha in the first-ever meetings in program history. The Redhawks take on tournament host, Drake, for the sixth time on Friday at 3 p.m. SEMO leads the series 3-2, but the Bulldogs won the most recent matchup in three sets (25-19, 25-19, 25-20) in 2016. Drake won the initial meeting in 1993, 3-2, before Southeast strung together three straight victories from 2001-2004.
 
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.
 
Looking Ahead
SEMO heads to 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 against Tennessee Martin Sept. 19.