21st Panther Invitational
Location: Milwaukee, Wisc.  
Venue: J. Martin Klotsche Center
 
Friday, Sept. 13, 2019
Match Information
Southeast Missouri (4-3)
vs. Milwaukee (5-1)
First Serve: 12:30 p.m., CT
Series: Milwaukee leads 3-1
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Video: ESPN+

Match Information
vs. Western Michigan (6-0) 
First Serve: 5 p.m., CT
Series: Western Michigan leads 1-0
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Video: YouTube
 
Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019
Match Information
vs. Butler (1-5)
First Serve: 12 p.m., CT
Series: Butler leads 4-2
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Video: YouTube
 
Match Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF)
 
Redhawks Head North to Milwaukee for Panther Invitational
Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (4-3) visits the Badger State Friday and Saturday for the 21st Panther Invitational held at the Klotsche Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Redhawks open the tournament Friday at 12:30 p.m. against Milwaukee which is the alma mater of head coach Julie Yankus before facing Western Michigan at 5 p.m. SEMO closes out the Invitational against Butler at noon on Saturday. Southeast's match with Milwaukee will be televised live on ESPN+ and the following two matches will be streamed on YouTube.
 
Right side hitter Caroline Draver returns home for the tournament. Draver, a Shorewood, Wisconsin native, went to Divine Savior Holy Angels High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and played club volleyball for the Milwaukee Sting.
 
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
Panthers
Milwaukee is off to a 5-1 start for its best start since 2016. They went 3-0 over the opening weekend at Belmont's Bruiser Showcase, but took a tough 3-2 loss to Eastern Washington to open the Drake Invitational before bouncing back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Drake, 3-2. Carmen Heilemann earned Drake Invitational Most Valuable Player while Jess Grabowski also earned All-Tournament honors. With wins over Saint Louis and Drake, the Panthers were named Drake Invitational Champions.
 
The Panthers were selected to finish seventh in the 2019 Horizon League Preseason Poll.
 
Broncos
Western Michigan enters the weekend after opening the season with back-to-back non-conference tournament titles, winning the Rambler Challenge last weekend and the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational to begin the season. Rachel Bontrager and Maggie King were named to the Rambler Challenge All-Tournament team with Bontrager earning tournament MVP honors. 2019 marks the first year that WMU has started a season 6-0 since 1996.
 
WMU swept the MAC West weekly awards for the second straight week. Bontrager was Offensive POTW, Kathleen Reilly earned Defensive POTW and Rose Duffy and Mary Marzo were both tabbed Setters of the week.
 
The Broncos were picked to finish second in the MAC West Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
Bulldogs
Butler mostly recently dropped three matches at the Hampton Inn Bowling Green Invitational to Cleveland State, host Bowling Green and Charlotte this past weekend. The Bulldogs are 1-5 in 2019.
 
Outside hitter Anna Logan was named to the 2019 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team and missed the entire 2018 campaign with an injury. The Bulldogs were picked to finish fifth in the BIG EAST's preseason coaches' poll.
 
Series History
Panthers
Milwaukee leads the all-time series on Southeast, 3-1. The two teams last faced off on Sept. 2, 2012, at the Panther Invitational with Milwaukee earning the sweep. 

Broncos
Western Michigan holds a slight 1-0 edge on the Redhawks in the all-time series. The Broncos and Southeast also met at the 2012 edition of the Panther Invitational on Aug. 31, 2012. SEMO fell to WMU, 0-3, to open the tournament.
 
Bulldogs
Butler has a 4-2 edge in the all-time series against SEMO. The Bulldogs last met Southeast at the Butler Invitational on Sept. 14, 2012 with Butler overcoming SEMO in five sets.
 
Southeast Milwaukee Connection
Southeast Head Coach Julie Yankus was a player on the Milwaukee volleyball team from 1998 to 2001. During Yankus' time she was part of the most winning class in school history going 93-23 in her four seasons with the Panthers. Yankus also excelled in the classroom being named to the Horizon League All-Academic Team in 1999 and 2001.
 
Yankus, a Waukesha, Wisconsin native, is a 2002 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where she earned her bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a focus in Finance and Human Resource Management. She was also part of the Milwaukee Sting Volleyball Club.
 
Southern Illinois Tuesday Recap
Southeast dropped a 2-3 decision to border rival Southern Illinois on Tuesday. The Redhawks won the opening and third sets before the Salukis evened the match to force a fifth frame. SEMO hit a match-high .269 clip in the third set (25-13). Colby Greene blasted a personal best 20 kills on a .300 hitting percentage and Tara Beilsmith posted a career high 25 digs with seven assists. 
 
Annie Wehrheim and Laney Malloy each had 11 kills. Malloy also added 16 digs for her third double-double of 2019. Claire Ochs dished out 39 assists with 20 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Ochs leads the conference with 247 assists in 2019. SEMO out blocked SIU, 12-8 as Maggie Adams and Talia Gouard paced the team with five each.
 
Aces a Plenty
Junior defensive specialist Ally Dion has registered 13 aces in 2019 including a career-best six Tuesday at Southern Illinois. She ranks first in the Ohio Valley Conference for the category. Dion started the season with 69 career aces and has been moving up the Southeast record books for the 25-point rally scoring era (2008 to present). With six against the Salukis, Dion overcame Berkley Idel (78 aces from 2010-13) for fourth overall on the list. 
 
Redhawks Invitational Champions
Southeast captured the 2019 Redhawks Invitational Championship this past Saturday 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 Friday before a sweep of Evansville Saturday afternoon. The victory over Evansville marked the 500th NCAA Division I win for the Redhawks in school history. 
 
Claire Ochs was named the 2019 Redhawks Invitational MVP after she tallied 29 assists in the match with the Purple Aces. Ochs finished the weekend with 87 assists, 21 digs, 11 kills and eight blocks. Colby Greene and Laney Malloy were also named to the all-tournament team.
 
Greene along with Annie Wehrheim (.321) paced the Redhawks Saturday with 10 kills. Greene completed the tournament with 27 kills on a .355 hitting clip and added eight blocks. Malloy led SEMO over the three matches with 32 total kills while hitting .329 including nine kills with four service aces on Saturday. She also had 17 digs at the Invitational.
 
Tara Beilsmith led Southeast defensively this past weekend with 54 digs over the three matches. In the opener against Jackson State, Beilsmith had 18 digs. She then added 14 digs against Western Illinois. In the finale with Evansville, Beilsmith notched a personal best 22 digs. In serve-receive, Beilsmith only had one receiving error over the three matches. She finished the weekend with 10 assists and three service aces.
 
Redhawk Debuts
Freshmen Zoey Beasley and Kylie Plant both made their Redhawk debuts last Friday in the win over Jackson State. Beasley finished with a block and Plant chipped in a dig during the contest with the Tigers. Five members of the 2019 team have now made their Southeast debuts this season as 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. 
 
Record Books 
Krista Berns ranks fifth overall at Southeast (25-point rally scoring era from 2008 to present) for total blocks (261) after she had nine at the Redhawks Invitational. She is also sixth for solo blocks (37) and block assists (224). Berns is six block assists from tying Emily Hughes (230 from 2008-10) for fifth on the list. 
 
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 the Panthers Invitational, Southeast travels for its second non-conference midweek match on Tuesday, Sept. 17 at Saint Louis. The Redhawks then close out their non-conference slate with the Memphis Invitational Sept. 20-21 with contests scheduled against Toledo, North Alabama and host, Memphis.