Southeast Missouri (14-8, 6-2 OVC)
vs. Tennessee State (9-12, 2-6 OVC) 
Match Information
Date: Friday, Oct. 25, 2019
Location: Nashville, Tenn. 
Venue: Kean Hall
First Serve: 6 p.m., CT
Series: Southeast leads 42-8 
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
vs. Belmont (2-21, 1-7 OVC) 
Match Information
Date: Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019
Location: Nashville, Tenn. 
Venue: Curb Event Center
First Serve: 2 p.m., CT
Series: Belmont leads 6-4 
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
Match Notes: Southeast Missouri
  
Southeast Ventures to the Music City to Face Tennessee State and Belmont
Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (14-8, 6-2 OVC) travels to the Music City to face Tennessee State (9-12, 2-6 OVC) and Belmont (2-21, 1-7 OVC) Friday and Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee. Southeast faces TSU Friday at 6 p.m. at Kean Hall before concluding the trip Saturday against Belmont at the Curb Event Center at 2 p.m. 
 
Follow the Redhawks
• Stats will be available for Friday and Saturday's matches on GoSoutheast.com.
• @SEMOvb, the official Twitter page of Redhawks volleyball, will feature live in-game updates all season long.
 
Scouting the Opponents
Tigers
Tennessee State is tied for ninth in the OVC with a 2-6 conference mark. TSU was most recently swept by Austin Peay and Murray State in road matches this past week. The Tigers opened the conference slate with a 3-1 win over Eastern Kentucky and then posted a five-set victory over Belmont for the team's second OVC win in 2019. 
 
The Tigers were picked to finish the season eighth in the league's preseason poll. Julia Pierson was named to the 2019 Preseason All-OVC Team and leads the team with 179 kills. 
 
Bruins
Belmont has just one win in conference play this season and is at the bottom of the OVC. The Bruins swept Eastern Illinois on Oct. 5 for their first win in league play and second overall (2-21). Like TSU, Belmont was swept on the road this past week at Murray State and at Austin Peay.
 
Halee Van Poppel paces the Bruins with 246 kills (3.11 kills/set) and Akia Warrior has totaled 439 assists. Belmont will host UT Martin Friday ahead of its match with SEMO Saturday. 
  
Series History
Tigers
Southeast leads the all-time series with Tennessee State, 42-8. The Tigers won the 2018 meeting, 3-0, on Oct. 20 in Cape Girardeau. 
 
SEMO last beat TSU in 2017, a 3-0 sweep at Kean Hall in Nashville, Tennessee. Krissa Gearring paced the offense with 14 kills. Mikayla Kuhlmann and Nzingha Clarke each chipped in nine. Allie Henkelman totaled 20 assists and 12 digs. Keegan Fornoff added 14 assists. Ally Dion led the Redhawks defensively with 14 digs.
 
Bruins
Belmont has a slight edge in the all-time series with Southeast, 6-4. 
 
The Redhawks swept the Bruins in the 2018 matchup on Oct. 19 at Houck Field House. Claire Ochs dished out 25 assists and chipped in 12 digs for her 11th consecutive double-double. Haley Bilbruck posted eight kills and six blocks while Krista Berns added six of each. 
 
Since Belmont has been a member of the OVC, Southeast has not registered a win in Nashville, Tennessee, at the Curb Event Center. In the Music City, the Bruins swept SEMO in both 2017 and 2015 and overcame the Redhawks, 3-1, in 2013.
 
Redhawks Belmont Connection
Belmont assistant coach Karlee Lursen was a member of the Redhawks volleyball team from 2009-2012 and was coached by SEMO head coach Julie Yankus for two seasons. Lursen was a standout outside hitter at Southeast and was a perennial member of both the SEMO and Ohio Valley Conference academic honor rolls. In her SEMO career, Lursen recorded 563 kills with 78 total blocks.
 
Lursen is the second former Redhawk that Southeast will face on an opposing coaching staff in 2019. Southeast competed against Haley Bilbruck who is the graduate assistant at Eastern Illinois volleyball on Oct. 11.
 
About Last Week…
Southeast swept Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky last weekend and is now in a four-way tie for first in the OVC with Morehead State, Jacksonville State and Murray State with a 6-2 mark. The Redhawks are 8-2 in their last 10 matches.
 
Mikayla Kuhlmann paced Southeast with 17 kills over the weekend on a .317 hitting clip. Claire Ochs posted a team-best 64 assists over the two sweeps as Southeast hit at a. 311 clip. Tara Beilsmith led the Redhawks defensively with 32 total digs and also had seven service aces.
 
Get Out Ya Brooms!!
With two sweeps over Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky, Southeast has now totaled eight 3-0 sweeps this season. In OVC play, SEMO has registered four sweeps out of its eight conference matches in 2019. 
 
The Redhawks last had eight sweeps in a season in 2018 (16-14) and 2012 (21-13). During Southeast's Division I era, SEMO notched 21 sweeps during the 1999 season (28-6, 17-1 OVC). Southeast also posted a program-best 25 sweeps in 1990. 
 
We See You 2018 Redhawks
With two wins, the 2019 Redhawks will match last year's overall win total of 16 and eight in the OVC. 16 wins is the most in a season for Southeast in the past five seasons. SEMO posted 17 wins in 2013 (17-16, 9-7 OVC) and had 21 in 2012 (21-13, 12-4 OVC).
 
BLOCK PARTY 
The Redhawks lead the conference and rank 19th in the NCAA Division I with 195.0 total blocks (2.35 blocks/set, first in the OVC) in 2019. In conference play, SEMO tops the league with 77.0 total blocks (2.57 blocks/set). Maggie Adams is first in the OVC in strictly conference matches with 43 total blocks (1.43 blocks/set). Overall, in all matches, she is fourth with 1.04 blocks per set (74 total blocks). Krista Berns ranks sixth in the OVC with just under a block per set (0.99 blocks/set, 66 total blocks).
 
Southeast registered a program-best 23.0 total team blocks on Oct. 4 at Austin Peay. Adams led the Redhawks with a career best 11 while Berns added seven. Mikayla Kuhlmann and Annie Wehrheim each had career highs of six. Claire Ochs had four and Laney Malloy chipped in three. 
 
Another Ace for Southeast 
Southeast ranks first in the conference and sixth nationally with 150 service aces in 2019. SEMO is also 12th in all of NCAA Division I (1st in the OVC) with 1.81 aces per set.
 
Laney Malloy tops the conference with 36 aces (0.43 aces/set) which ranks 21st nationally. The Redhawks are also second and fourth in the league for total aces with Claire Ochs (31, 0.37 aces/set), Ally Dion (25), and Emily Boggetto (25) respectively. 
 
Boggetto registered a career-best five service aces against Eastern Illinois on Oct. 11. 
 
Malloy is tied with Dion (2017) for first in Southeast program history (25-point rally scoring era from 2008 to present) for service aces in a single-season with 36.
 
Da Ally D Show 
Junior defensive specialist Ally Dion posted a service ace against Morehead State last Friday to overtake Jade Mortimer (2013-2016, 93) for first in Southeast program history (25-point rally scoring era from 2008 to present) with 94 career service aces. 
 
Ochs the Setter, Not the Tree 
Claire Ochs ranks second in the league with 774 assists this season (30th in the NCAA). Ochs averages 9.33 assists per set for fifth in the OVC. As a team, the Redhawks are second in the conference with 927 total assists (11.17 assists per set).
 
I Dig this Beilsmith Character 
Freshman libero Tara Beilsmith tops the conference with 392 digs and is 23rd nationally. She is also fourth in the OVC with 4.72 digs per set. Beilsmith has registered 20 or more digs in nine matches this season. 
 
As a team, the Redhawks are first and third in the league for team digs (1,348, 22nd NCAA) and digs per set (16.24). 
 
Point Scorer
Laney Malloy is third in the OVC with 306.5 total points in 2019. She is also third with 883 total attacks and has compiled 251 kills for seventh in the OVC. 
 
Redhawk Open OVC Play with Victory 
Southeast opened Ohio Valley Conference play on Sept. 24 with a 3-1 win over UT Martin in front of 823 fans at Houck Field House for the annual Redhawks Houck "Filled" House match.
 
Mikayla Kuhlmann and Laney Malloy led the Southeast offense with 11 kills each and Annie Wehrheim added 10. Malloy chipped in 11 digs for the double-double outing. Claire Ochs also tallied a double-double with 10 digs to complement her 36 assists. Kylie Plant was perfect on both of her swings, registering her first two career kills as a Redhawk down the stretch in the first and fourth sets. 
 
Non-Conference Recap
Southeast concluded non-conference play with an 8-6 mark that featured a pair of tournament championships and a four-match win streak entering the OVC slate. SEMO last won two tournaments in 2012 when the team registered a 21-13 record.
 
Southeast captured its Redhawks Invitational Championship with victories over Jackson State, Western Illinois and Evansville. SEMO posted wins over Toledo, North Alabama and Memphis to conclude non-conference play and grab the Beale Street Challenge Championship. The Redhawks also defeated Saint Louis for the first time since 2013 on Sept. 17 and had a win over Jacksonville at the season-opening Missouri State Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational. 
  
500th NCAA Win
Southeast captured the 2019 Redhawks Invitational Championship on Sept. 7 after registering a perfect 3-0 record with three consecutive, 3-0 sweeps. SEMO opened the tournament with wins over Jackson State and Western Illinois before a sweep of Evansville. The victory over Evansville in the tournament finale marked the 500th NCAA Division I win for the Redhawks in school history. Southeast joined the NCAA Division I and the Ohio Valley Conference in 1991. 
 
Redhawk Debuts
Five members of the 2019 team have made their Southeast debuts this season. Freshmen Zoey Beasley and Kylie Plant both made their Redhawk debuts in the win over Jackson State at the Redhawks Invitational Sept. 6. Sophomore Colby Greene and freshmen Tara Beilsmith and Talia Gouard saw action at the season-opening Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational at Missouri State Aug. 30-31. 
 
O Captains! My Captains!
Southeast Head Coach Julie Yankus announced on Sept. 3, Claire Ochs, Laney Malloy and Emily Boggetto were selected as team captains for the 2019 season. The trio were chosen to the leadership positions by their teammates.
 
Redhawk Scrimmage Recap
Southeast competed in the Redhawk Scrimmage Aug. 24 at Houck Field House in preparation for the 2019 season. Head coach Julie Yankus coached the red team while assistant coach Loni Kreun was at the helm of the black team. The red team edged the black team in three sets, 25-15, 25-14, 25-15. Colby Greene paced the red team with a match-high 11 kill outing while Laney Malloy added nine with 12 digs and Talia Gouard tallied eight kills. Krista Berns had six kills to complement her five service aces and four blocks. Claire Ochs dished out 26 assists with 11 digs. Ally Dion finished with a double-double of 13 assists with 16 digs and two aces on black.
 
Missouri Baptist Exhibition Recap
The Redhawks edged Missouri Baptist, 3-0, in the program's third consecutive exhibition match Aug. 12 at Houck Field House. SEMO swept the Spartans by scores of 25-12, 25-16 and 25-20. Colby Greene led the Redhawks with six kills, while Laney Malloy, Krista Berns and Claire Ochs followed close behind with five each. Ochs added a double-double of 29 assists with a match-high 14 digs. The Redhawks added seven blocks, as well.
 
Roster Breakdown
The 2019 Southeast team includes 16 student-athletes and features seven upperclassmen (four seniors and three juniors). SEMO returns 12 players from the 2018 OVC Tournament Team and only lost four letter winners. The 2019 squad also includes four newcomers. 
 
Annie Wehrheim returns for her senior season, moving to the right side hitter position after a Second-Team All-OVC performance in 2018 at outside hitter. Wehrheim was named to the 2019 Preseason All-OVC volleyball team after she was third on SEMO last season with 204 kills.
 
Other top returners for the Redhawks offensively are Laney Malloy and Krista Berns. Malloy paced Southeast with 299 kills and Berns was fifth on the team, chipping in 134 kills.
 
Claire Ochs returns at setter for her sophomore campaign and totaled 1,104 assists while starting in all but one match in 2018. Ochs ranks fourth all-time for assists in a single season during SEMO's 25-point rally scoring era. She also notched a team-best 18 double-doubles last season including a 57-assist and 21-dig outing at Eastern Illinois.
 
Defensively, junior Ally Dion returns at the libero/defensive specialist position after she led the team in 2018 with 395 digs (3.53 digs/set). Senior Emily Boggetto also returns for her final collegiate season at Southeast.
 
Maggie Adams topped the team in 2018 with 105.0 total blocks and Berns tallied 80.0. Berns ranks sixth overall in the SEMO record books for career solo blocks (35), block assists (198) and total blocks (233).
 
Redhawks Add Kreun as Assistant Coach
Head coach Julie Yankus added assistant coach Loni Kreun in May. Kreun most recently spent a season as the Volunteer Assistant Coach at UNC Charlotte where she gained experience in scouting, recruiting, and practice organization. She coordinated logistics for team travel and helped develop the team's social media presence.
 
Before transitioning to coaching, Kreun was an outside hitter at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina. During her senior year, she led the Camels with a team best 332 kills, which ranked fifth in the Big South Conference. Kreun was named to the Big South Second-Team after competing in 121 sets over 31 matches.
 
OVC Preseason Poll
SEMO was predicted to finished the 2019 campaign sixth overall in the league, the OVC announced Aug. 15. The Redhawks received 146 points in the poll voted on by OVC coaches and sports information directors. Murray State, the 2018 OVC Champions, were selected to repeat this season and Austin Peay was picked second followed by Morehead State, Jacksonville State and SIUE. The Racers earned 12 first-place votes. Rounding out the poll are UT Martin, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, Belmont, Eastern Illinois and Eastern Kentucky from seventh through 12th.
 
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 fourth-straight season. SEMO was also awarded their 12th American Volleyball Coaches Association AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2018-2019 season after registering a 3.60 cumulative GPA.
 
Maggie Adams, Madara Bajare, Krista Berns, Haley Bilbruck, Caroline Draver, Keegan Fornoff, Colby Greene, Madeline Grimm, Laney Malloy, Elissa Moylan, Claire Ochs and Annie Wehrheim each were named to the OVC's Commissioner's Honor Roll for the 2018-19 academic year after they achieved at least a 3.25 grade point average. 
 
Keegan Fornoff and Madeline Grimm both earned OVC Medal of Honors after they posted perfect 4.0 grade point averages during the 2018-19 academic year.
 
Looking Ahead
After their weekend in the Music City, Southeast heads to Martin, Tennessee, to face UT Martin on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Southeast beat the Skyhawks in four sets to open its conference slate. The Redhawks then return home for a matchup with Jacksonville State at Houck Field House on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 1 p.m.