Southeast Missouri (4-6)
at Saint Louis (6-3)
Match Information
Date: Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019
Location: St. Louis, Mo.
Venue: Chaifetz Pavilion
First Serve: 6 p.m., CT
Series: Saint Louis leads 24-16
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Complete Match Notes:
Southeast Missouri

Southeast Faces Saint Louis in Midweek Matchup Tuesday 
Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (4-6) makes a short jaunt to St. Louis, Missouri, for a Tuesday night showdown against Saint Louis (6-3) of the Atlantic 10 Conference. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m., CT, at Chaifetz Pavilion. 
 
The 2019 Redhawks roster features four players from the St. Louis area who return home for the match. Maggie Adams hails from Fenton, Missouri, and played for Rockwood Summit High School and the Rockwood Thunder volleyball club. Tara Beilsmith (Weldon Spring, Mo.), Mikayla Kuhlmann (Mehlville HS, St. Louis, Mo.) and Claire Ochs (Chesterfield, Mo.) all competed for the High Performance Volleyball Club based in St. Louis. Beilsmith and Ochs helped St. Joseph's Academy win the 2017 Missouri Class 4A State Volleyball Championship in 2017.
 
Follow the Redhawks
• Stats will be available for Tuesday's match on GoSoutheast.com.
• @SEMOvb, the official Twitter page of Redhawks volleyball, will feature live in-game updates all season long.
 
Scouting the Billikens
Saint Louis enters the meeting, boasting a 6-3 record after finishing second at its Billiken Invitational with wins over Troy and UT Martin of the Ohio Valley Conference this past weekend. SLU was swept by Marshall before bouncing back to sweep the Skyhawks.
 
Outside hitter Maya Taylor was named to her third straight all-tournament team after she tallied 45 total kills on a .287 attack percentage. Setter Kennedy Corida earned a spot on the all-tournament team after she handed out 96 assists in the tournament, while adding 24 digs, five kills and five service aces.
 
The Billikens were pegged to finish third in the Atlantic 10 in 2019.
 
Series History
Saint Louis leads the all-time series, 24-16. The Billikens won the last meeting, 3-1, on Aug. 28, 2015 at the Drury Hotels Redhawks Invitational at Houck Field House. 
 
SEMO last beat Saint Louis, 3-2, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, on Oct. 16, 2013.
 
Beilsmith Named to Panther Invitational All-Tournament Team
Freshman libero Tara Beilsmith was named to the Panther Invitational All-Tournament Team for her first career non-conference tournament honors. Beilsmith totaled 64 digs and finished the week with 89. She started the Invitational with 17 defensive gets at Milwaukee and then added 23 digs against Western Michigan. Beilsmith concluded the tournament with 24 digs against Butler. She also chipped in 13 assists and three service aces. Beilsmith tops the Redhawks in 2019 with 179 digs (4.84 digs/set) which is second in the conference.
 
Panther Invitational Recap
Southeast fell in all three of its Panther Invitational matches this past weekend. SEMO was swept by Milwaukee and Western Michigan. In the finale, the Redhawks grabbed the second set but lost a 1-3 decision to Butler. 
 
Laney Malloy posted a team high 27 kills with 35 digs while Mikayla Kuhlmann and Krista Berns both registered 14 kills. Claire Ochs passed out 72 assists with 29 digs. Maggie Adams had 10 total blocks. Malloy and Ochs both collected double-double performances against Butler. 
 
Southern Illinois Tuesday Recap
Southeast dropped a 2-3 decision to border rival Southern Illinois on Sept. 10. 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 is third in the conference with 319 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 15 aces in 2019 including a career-best six last Tuesday at Southern Illinois. That mark puts her second in the OVC. 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 and two at the Panther Invitational, Dion overcame Berkley Idel (78 aces from 2010-13) for fourth overall on the list with 84. Dion is two behind Krissa Gearring who totaled 86 from 2014 to 2017.
 
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. 
 
Record Books 
Krista Berns ranks fifth overall at Southeast (25-point rally scoring era from 2008 to present) for total blocks (267) after she had six at the Panther Invitational. She is also sixth for solo blocks (39) and block assists (228). Berns is two 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 Tuesday's midweek matchup at Saint Louis, the Redhawks close out their non-conference slate with the Memphis Invitational Friday and Saturday with contests scheduled against Toledo, North Alabama and host, Memphis.