Southeast Missouri (17-8, 9-2 OVC)
vs. Jacksonville State (15-8, 9-2 OVC) 
Match Information
Date: Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Venue: Houck Field House
First Serve: 1 p.m., CT
Series: Jacksonville State leads 15-14
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
Match Notes: Southeast Missouri
   
Southeast Hosts Jacksonville State Saturday in a Battle for the Top OVC Spot
Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (17-8, 9-2 OVC) faces Jacksonville State (15-8, 9-2 OVC) in a battle for first place in the Ohio Valley Conference Saturday at 1 p.m. at Houck Field House. The match opens Southeast's final homestand of the season where they also take on Austin Peay (7-17, 5-5 OVC) and Murray State (13-9, 7-3 OVC).
 
Promotions
•Giveaways
- The first 50 fans will receive Redhawk socks.
- Students will also receive Southeast Rowdy Crowd long sleeve t-shirts compliments of Burrito-Ville, as supplies last.
 
•Post Match Autographs
- The 2019 Redhawks volleyball team will be signing autographs at the conclusion of Saturday's match.
 
Follow the Redhawks
• Stats will be available for Saturday's match on GoSoutheast.com.
• @SEMOvb, the official Twitter page of Redhawks volleyball, will feature live in-game updates all season long.
 
Scouting the Opponent
Jacksonville State defeated Murray State and Austin Peay last week. Shayla Schmidt recorded 20 kills and 11 blocks over the two matches. She had a career-high 12 kills in the win over Murray State. Lexi Libs dished out 82 assists last week and notched a double-double with 41 assists and 11 digs against Murray State. Erin Carmichael recorded a team-best 24 digs last week. 
 
Jacksonville State dropped the opening set before overcoming Tennessee Tech in four sets Wednesday in Cookeville, Tennessee. Kaylie Milton tied her career high of 20 kills on the night to lead the Gamecock offense. Lena Kindermann provided 16 kills, followed by Kaylee Frear with 11. Lexie Libs notched a season-best 19 digs to go along with 51 assists, her fourth 50-assist match of the year.
 
Series History
Jacksonville State leads the all-time series with Southeast, 15-14.
 
In the 2018 meeting, JSU swept the Redhawks in the regular-season finale on Nov. 10 in Jacksonville, Alabama. 
 
Southeast swept the Gamecocks in 2017 (9/23) for its first conference win of the season. Krista Berns led the Redhawks offense with nine kills while Krissa Gearring, Haley Bilbruck and Nzingha Clarke each tallied eight. Madara Bajare and Mikayla Kuhlmann chipped in seven kills each. Keegan Fornoff dished out 25 assists and Allie Henkelman added 17. Defensively, Ally Dion led the team with 13 digs and Gearring added nine.
 
Tuesday Night at UT Martin Recap
Southeast overcame UT Martin in five sets Tuesday at the Skyhawk Fieldhouse in Martin, Tennessee, to sweep the season series and extend its win streak to five matches. The Redhawks also earned their first victory over the Skyhawks in Martin, Tennessee, since 2012 (3-1, 11/6). 
 
Annie Wehrheim and Laney Malloy each posted a team-high 13 kills in the match. Malloy also compiled 12 digs for the double-double. Mikayla Kuhlmann added 12 kills. Claire Ochs registered 39 assists and a career-best 25 digs for the double-double outing. Tara Beilsmith was second on the Redhawks with 22 digs.
 
About Last Week…
Southeast posted two wins during its road trip to the Music City this past weekend with a sweep of Tennessee State and a 3-1 victory over Belmont to extend its win streak to four matches. The Redhawks sit atop the OVC standings in a three-way tie for first with Morehead State and Jacksonville State. Maggie Adams (14 kills, .684) and Krista Berns (13 kills, .500) each had career-best outings Saturday at Belmont. 
 
Laney Malloy paced the Redhawks offense this past week with 31 kills and 23 digs on a .261 hitting clip. She also had a pair of double-doubles. Tara Beilsmith led the SEMO defense this past weekend with 37 digs and registered her 10th 20-plus dig performance in 2019 at Belmont. Claire Ochs dished out 69 assists over the weekend as Southeast hit at a .286 rate. Ochs finished the weekend with 19 digs and had a double-double at Belmont Saturday.
 
Get Out Ya Brooms!! 
With a sweep of Tennessee State last week, Southeast has now totaled nine 3-0 sweeps this season. In OVC play, SEMO has registered five sweeps out of its 11 conference matches in 2019. 
 
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 2013 Redhawks 
With two wins in Nashville, Tennessee, over Tennessee State and Belmont and a mid-week victory at UT Martin the 2019 Redhawks matched the 2013 Southeast win total of 17 and nine in the OVC (17-16, 9-7 OVC). In 2012, SEMO posted 21 wins (21-13, 12-4 OVC).
 
BLOCK PARTY 
The Redhawks lead the conference and rank 16th in the NCAA Division I with 222.0 total blocks (2.34 blocks/set, first in the OVC) in 2019. In conference play, SEMO tops the league with 104.0 total blocks (2.48 blocks/set). Maggie Adams is first in the OVC in strictly conference matches with 58 total blocks (1.38 blocks/set). Overall, in all matches, she is third with 1.07 blocks per set (89 total blocks). Krista Berns ranks sixth in the OVC with just under a block per set (0.97 blocks/set, 77 total blocks).
 
SEMO posted its second-highest block total of the season with 15.0 Tuesday at UT Martin. 
 
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 fifth nationally with 168 service aces in 2019. SEMO is also 18th in all of NCAA Division I (1st in the OVC) with 1.77 aces per set.
 
Laney Malloy tops the conference with 39 aces (0.43 aces/set) which ranks 18th nationally. The Redhawks are also third, fourth and seventh in the league for total aces with Claire Ochs (33, 0.35 aces/set), Emily Boggetto (28) and Ally Dion (28) and Tara Beilsmith (27), respectively. 
 
Boggetto registered a career-best five service aces against Eastern Illinois on Oct. 11. 
 
Malloy overcame Ally Dion (36, 2017) for first in Southeast program history (25-point rally scoring era from 2008 to present) for service aces in a single-season with 39.
 
Ochs the Setter, Not the Tree 
Claire Ochs ranks second in the league with 882 assists this season (18th in the NCAA). Ochs averages 9.28 assists per set for fifth in the OVC. She has accumulated 273 digs in 2019 and led SEMO with a career-high of 25 Tuesday at UTM. As a team, the Redhawks are third in the conference with 1,053 total assists (11.08 assists per set).
 
I Dig this Beilsmith Character 
Freshman libero Tara Beilsmith tops the conference with 451 digs and is 19th nationally. She is also fourth in the OVC with 4.75 digs per set. Beilsmith has registered 20 or more digs in 11 matches this season. 
 
As a team, the Redhawks are first and second in the league for team digs (1,559, 13th NCAA) and digs per set (16.41). 
 
Malloy the Point Scorer 
Laney Malloy is third in the OVC with 356.5 total points (3.75 points/set) in 2019. She is also third with 1,025 total attacks (10.79 attacks/set, fifth) and has compiled 295 kills for sixth 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 Saturday, Southeast continues its final regular-season homestand of the 2019 campaign on Thursday, Nov. 7 and Friday, Nov. 8 when it hosts Austin Peay and Murray State at Houck Field House. The Redhawks will honor their four seniors prior to the match with Murray State on Senior Day.  
 
SEMO concludes its 2019 regular season on the road with trips to SIUE (Nov. 15) and Eastern Illinois (Nov. 16).