Saturday, August 18
Cape Girardeau, Mo.
1:00 PM
Southeast Missouri State University
vs
Southeast Missouri State
Photo by: Marc Mahnke
Volleyball to Compete in Redhawks Scrimmage Saturday at Houck Field House
8/17/2018 3:39:00 PM | Volleyball
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri women's volleyball will compete in the Redhawks Scrimmage, a team intrasquad Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Houck Field House.
The scrimmage is free and open to the public. It will be the final tune up before the start of fall classes on Monday and the season-opening Troy Invitational August 24-25 at the Trojan Arena in Troy, Alabama.
The Redhawks edged Missouri Baptist, 3-0, in the program's second-ever exhibition match Monday afternoon at Houck Field House. Freshman setter Claire Ochs unofficially posted 26 assists and 13 digs. Offensively, Mikayla Kuhlmann led the team with 11 kills and Haley Bilbruck added seven kills.
Southeast out blocked the Spartans in the match, 9-6. Newcomer Laney Malloy started the exhibition with five kills in the opening set. Libero Ally Dion led the team defensively with 14 digs.
Follow the Redhawks
• @SEMOvb, the official Twitter page of Redhawks volleyball, will feature live in-game updates all season long.
Roster Breakdown
The Redhawks squad includes 16 student-athletes and features eight upperclassmen (four seniors and four juniors). Southeast returns 10 players from the 2017 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Team and only lost five letter winners. The 2018 squad features six newcomers including five freshmen and one transfer (sophomore).
Despite losing All-OVC picks in Nzingha Clarke and Krissa Gearring, offensively the Redhawks return Mikayla Kuhlmann (205 kills, 2.38 kills/set), Haley Bilbruck (166 kills, 1.42 kills/set), Madara Bajare (130 kills) and Krista Berns (116 kills) who ranked third, fourth, fifth and sixth for winners in 2017.
Keegan Fornoff returns at setter for her senior season and dished out 530 assists in 2017. Fornoff currently ranks fourth overall in SEMO program history (25-point rally scoring, 2008-present) with 1059 career assists. She will split time with freshman Claire Ochs at the position.
Defensively, Ally Dion returns at the libero/defensive specialist position after she led the team in 2017 with 340 digs (3.33) as a freshman. Emily Boggetto is another returner at the position and was fourth on SEMO with 148 digs (2.96 digs/set).
Oh, Hi Carly!
Carly Thomas joins the Redhawks in 2018 as an assistant coach after spending a year at Missouri State. Thomas coaches the setters and is responsible for travel, film exchange, home match management and academic development among other duties. Thomas was a standout player at Missouri State from 2010-13, starting in 107 of her 124 career matches at setter. She earned First-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors each of her final three seasons. An AVCA honorable mention All-American in 2013, Thomas ranked second in MSU history with 4,708 career assists and 12th with 1,201 digs, while adding 498 kills on a .257 hitting percentage. She added 177 blocks and four triple-doubles during her career as well.
Thomas most recently coached at her alma mater, assisting the MSU Beach Volleyball program during its inaugural season. Prior to that, she spent three years as an assistant coach at Ozark High School, earning Large Class Assistant Coach of the Year honors from the Missouri High School Volleyball Coaches Association in 2016. Thomas also spent the last four years coaching club volleyball for Springfield Juniors, leading her team to a berth in the USA Junior National Championships.
OVC Preseason Poll
SEMO was chosen to finish ninth in the 2018 Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Predicted Order of Finish, the league announced Tuesday. The Redhawks received 95 points in the poll voted on by OVC coaches and sports information directors. Murray State was picked to finish first with 230 points and 10 first-place votes. 2017 OVC Champion Austin Peay earned 14 first-place votes and totaled 227 points for second. Rounding out the poll are SIUE (193), Eastern Kentucky (175), Belmont (152), Morehead State (129), Jacksonville State (125), Eastern Illinois (112), Southeast Missouri (95), Tennessee State (58), UT Martin (56), Tennessee Tech (32).
Redhawks Crushing it in the Classroom
Southeast racked up multiple academic awards in the offseason. The Redhawks earned a NCAA Public Recognition Award based on their most recent multiyear Academic Progress Rates for the third-straight season. SEMO was also awarded their 11th American Volleyball Coaches Association AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2017-2018 season after registering a 3.30 cumulative GPA.
Maggie Adams, Madara Bajare, Krista Berns, Haley Bilbruck, Keegan Fornoff, Marie Less and Jessica McElderry were each listed on the OVC's Commissioner's Honor Roll for the 2017-18 academic year after they achieved at least a 3.25 grade point average. Less earned her second straight OVC Medal of Honor after she posted a perfect 4.0 grade point average during the 2017-18 academic year.
Let's Recap
SEMO finished the 2017 season with an 11-20 overall record and 6-10 mark in the OVC. The Redhawks competed in the OVC Tournament as the no. 8 seed but fell to eventual champion and top seed Austin Peay.
Southeast Start Season at Troy
Southeast opens the 2018 campaign in Troy, Alabama, at the Troy Invitational on Friday, Aug. 24 at the Trojan Arena. SEMO will start the tourney with a doubleheader on Friday, playing Southern at noon, CT and then facing Southeastern Louisiana at 3:30 p.m. The Redhawks meet the tournament host, Trojans, Saturday (Aug. 25) morning at 10 a.m.
Redhawks Invitational Opens Home Slate
Southeast hosts the Redhawks Invitational for the team's home opener Friday, Aug. 31-Saturday, Sept. 1 at Houck Field House and Saxony Lutheran High School (Saturday) in Jackson, Missouri. SEMO welcomes Louisiana Monroe, Radford and Northwestern State to Cape Girardeau for the two-day tournament. The Redhawks face Louisiana Monroe in their first tournament match on Aug. 31 at 12:30 p.m. followed by a 7 p.m. contest against Radford. Southeast takes on Northwestern State at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 1 to finish the tournament.
The scrimmage is free and open to the public. It will be the final tune up before the start of fall classes on Monday and the season-opening Troy Invitational August 24-25 at the Trojan Arena in Troy, Alabama.
The Redhawks edged Missouri Baptist, 3-0, in the program's second-ever exhibition match Monday afternoon at Houck Field House. Freshman setter Claire Ochs unofficially posted 26 assists and 13 digs. Offensively, Mikayla Kuhlmann led the team with 11 kills and Haley Bilbruck added seven kills.
Southeast out blocked the Spartans in the match, 9-6. Newcomer Laney Malloy started the exhibition with five kills in the opening set. Libero Ally Dion led the team defensively with 14 digs.
Follow the Redhawks
• @SEMOvb, the official Twitter page of Redhawks volleyball, will feature live in-game updates all season long.
Roster Breakdown
The Redhawks squad includes 16 student-athletes and features eight upperclassmen (four seniors and four juniors). Southeast returns 10 players from the 2017 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Team and only lost five letter winners. The 2018 squad features six newcomers including five freshmen and one transfer (sophomore).
Despite losing All-OVC picks in Nzingha Clarke and Krissa Gearring, offensively the Redhawks return Mikayla Kuhlmann (205 kills, 2.38 kills/set), Haley Bilbruck (166 kills, 1.42 kills/set), Madara Bajare (130 kills) and Krista Berns (116 kills) who ranked third, fourth, fifth and sixth for winners in 2017.
Keegan Fornoff returns at setter for her senior season and dished out 530 assists in 2017. Fornoff currently ranks fourth overall in SEMO program history (25-point rally scoring, 2008-present) with 1059 career assists. She will split time with freshman Claire Ochs at the position.
Defensively, Ally Dion returns at the libero/defensive specialist position after she led the team in 2017 with 340 digs (3.33) as a freshman. Emily Boggetto is another returner at the position and was fourth on SEMO with 148 digs (2.96 digs/set).
Oh, Hi Carly!
Carly Thomas joins the Redhawks in 2018 as an assistant coach after spending a year at Missouri State. Thomas coaches the setters and is responsible for travel, film exchange, home match management and academic development among other duties. Thomas was a standout player at Missouri State from 2010-13, starting in 107 of her 124 career matches at setter. She earned First-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors each of her final three seasons. An AVCA honorable mention All-American in 2013, Thomas ranked second in MSU history with 4,708 career assists and 12th with 1,201 digs, while adding 498 kills on a .257 hitting percentage. She added 177 blocks and four triple-doubles during her career as well.
Thomas most recently coached at her alma mater, assisting the MSU Beach Volleyball program during its inaugural season. Prior to that, she spent three years as an assistant coach at Ozark High School, earning Large Class Assistant Coach of the Year honors from the Missouri High School Volleyball Coaches Association in 2016. Thomas also spent the last four years coaching club volleyball for Springfield Juniors, leading her team to a berth in the USA Junior National Championships.
OVC Preseason Poll
SEMO was chosen to finish ninth in the 2018 Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Predicted Order of Finish, the league announced Tuesday. The Redhawks received 95 points in the poll voted on by OVC coaches and sports information directors. Murray State was picked to finish first with 230 points and 10 first-place votes. 2017 OVC Champion Austin Peay earned 14 first-place votes and totaled 227 points for second. Rounding out the poll are SIUE (193), Eastern Kentucky (175), Belmont (152), Morehead State (129), Jacksonville State (125), Eastern Illinois (112), Southeast Missouri (95), Tennessee State (58), UT Martin (56), Tennessee Tech (32).
Redhawks Crushing it in the Classroom
Southeast racked up multiple academic awards in the offseason. The Redhawks earned a NCAA Public Recognition Award based on their most recent multiyear Academic Progress Rates for the third-straight season. SEMO was also awarded their 11th American Volleyball Coaches Association AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2017-2018 season after registering a 3.30 cumulative GPA.
Maggie Adams, Madara Bajare, Krista Berns, Haley Bilbruck, Keegan Fornoff, Marie Less and Jessica McElderry were each listed on the OVC's Commissioner's Honor Roll for the 2017-18 academic year after they achieved at least a 3.25 grade point average. Less earned her second straight OVC Medal of Honor after she posted a perfect 4.0 grade point average during the 2017-18 academic year.
Let's Recap
SEMO finished the 2017 season with an 11-20 overall record and 6-10 mark in the OVC. The Redhawks competed in the OVC Tournament as the no. 8 seed but fell to eventual champion and top seed Austin Peay.
Southeast Start Season at Troy
Southeast opens the 2018 campaign in Troy, Alabama, at the Troy Invitational on Friday, Aug. 24 at the Trojan Arena. SEMO will start the tourney with a doubleheader on Friday, playing Southern at noon, CT and then facing Southeastern Louisiana at 3:30 p.m. The Redhawks meet the tournament host, Trojans, Saturday (Aug. 25) morning at 10 a.m.
Redhawks Invitational Opens Home Slate
Southeast hosts the Redhawks Invitational for the team's home opener Friday, Aug. 31-Saturday, Sept. 1 at Houck Field House and Saxony Lutheran High School (Saturday) in Jackson, Missouri. SEMO welcomes Louisiana Monroe, Radford and Northwestern State to Cape Girardeau for the two-day tournament. The Redhawks face Louisiana Monroe in their first tournament match on Aug. 31 at 12:30 p.m. followed by a 7 p.m. contest against Radford. Southeast takes on Northwestern State at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 1 to finish the tournament.
Players Mentioned
Middle Blocker
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Rightside Hitter
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Middle Blocker
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Rightside Hitter
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Defensive Specialist
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Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Defensive Specialist
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ VolleyballFriday, June 26
Monday, June 15
Thursday, June 04
Thursday, June 04
