2019 Beale Street Challenge
Location: Memphis, Tenn.  
Venue: Elma Roane Fieldhouse
 
Friday, Sept. 20, 2019
Match Information
Southeast Missouri (5-6)
vs. Toledo (6-3, 0-0 MAC)
First Serve: 12:30 p.m., CT
Series: First Meeting
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
Match Information
vs. North Alabama (2-8, 0-0 ASUN) 
First Serve: 4:30 p.m., CT
Series: SEMO leads 4-0
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019
Match Information
vs. Memphis (9-0)
First Serve: 1 p.m., CT
Series: Memphis leads 11-5
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Video: Memphis Tiger Network
 
Match Notes: Southeast Missouri 
 
Southeast Concludes Non-Conference Schedule in Memphis at Beale Street Challenge
Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (5-6) wraps up its non-conference slate at the 2019 Beale Street Challenge Friday and Saturday in Memphis, Tennessee. Southeast opens the tournament against Toledo Friday at 12:30 p.m. and then faces North Alabama at 4:30 p.m. later that day. SEMO closes out the Challenge against the host, Memphis Tigers, Saturday at 1 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
Rockets
Toledo enters the weekend with a 6-3 overall record and went 2-1 at the Wright State Invitational in Dayton, Ohio this past week. Zoe Birnbrich and Chloee Kleespies were both named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
The Rockets opened the 2019 campaign with a pair of losses to North Dakota State and Western Kentucky at their Blue and Gold Tournament. 
 
Toledo was picked to finish sixth in the Mid-American Conference West Division in 2019. Birnbrich earned Preseason All-MAC West honors.
 
Lions
North Alabama has posted two wins in 2019 and have a 2-8 overall record. The Lions beat Belmont of the OVC, 3-1, to open the season and swept Manhattan College to begin this past weekend's Chattanooga Classic. 
 
UNA dropped an 0-3 decision to the OVC's Tennessee State on Tuesday in its home opener. 
 
The Lions were pegged to finish eighth out of nine teams in its second season as a member of the ASUN Conference. Christina Ellwanger was named the ASUN Fan-Voted Player of the Year. UNA was previously a NCAA Division II institution that competed in the Gulf South Conference.
 
Tigers
Memphis boasts a perfect 9-0 mark in 2019 after winning the Eastern Illinois Panther Invitational, their home Tiger Brawl in Memphis, and the Saluki Invitational this past weekend. The 9-0 start is the Tigers' second-best start in program history. Hannah Flowers was named the Most Outstanding Player at the Saluki Invitational as she posted 49 kills on a .460 clip. Andrea O'Connor and Kaitlyn Gehler were also selected to the All-Tournament Team.
 
Flowers grabbed preseason All-American Athletic Conference laurels as Memphis was selected to finish 12th in the league this season. 
 
Series History
Rockets
Friday marks the first meeting between Southeast and Toledo.
 
Lions
Southeast leads the all-time series with North Alabama, 4-0. The two teams last met on Nov. 2, 1990, with SEMO sweeping the neutral site match.
 
Tigers
Memphis has an 11-5 advantage in the all-time series. Southeast overcame the Tigers, 3-1, on Aug. 29, 2014, to open the season and the Saint Louis Tournament. The Redhawks last beat the Tigers in Memphis, Tennessee, on Aug. 29, 2009, 3-0. 
 
Saint Louis Recap
Southeast Missouri women's volleyball fought past Saint Louis (6-4), 3-2, Tuesday night at the Chaifetz Pavilion for Southeast's first victory over the Billikens since 2013. Southeast jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the match after a highly competitive 25-23 opening set that featured 11 ties and six lead changes. The Redhawks recaptured the advantage with a 25-16 third set, while swinging at a .500 pace.
 
St. Louis native Mikayla Kuhlmann led the Redhawks offensively, posting a season high 17 kills with eight digs on a .289 hitting clip. Laney Malloy posted 16 kills and 17 digs for her fifth double-double in 2019. Annie Wehrheim who crushed the match-clinching kill, added 11 on a .364 hitting percentage. Claire Ochs dished out 46 assists in her hometown. Tara Beilsmith tallied a match high 20 digs to complement her career high five service aces.
 
Aces Goin' Up on a Tuesday
For the second straight Tuesday midweek match, Southeast registered 12 service aces. Tara Beilsmith led the Redhawks with a career high five while Laney Malloy, Emily Boggetto and Claire Ochs each had two. Ally Dion who posted a personal high six aces against Southern Illinois added one Tuesday against Saint Louis. 
 
The 12 service aces are the most for the Redhawks in a match since Sept. 12, 2014 when the team recorded the same feat against Savannah State. Southeast posted a program record 17 service aces on Sept. 24, 1994, against Tennessee Tech. 
 
Dion and Malloy top the team and are second in the OVC with 16 aces each. Ochs is fifth in the conference with 14.
 
Dion is one career service ace away from tying Krissa Gearring (2014-17) for third all-time in Southeast program history (25-point rally scoring era from 2008 to present) with 86. Julie Shives is second on the list, notching 87 from 2010 to 2013 and Jade Mortimer is the career leader with 93 service aces from 2013 to 2016.
 
Record Books
Krista Berns led the Redhawks with six block assists against Saint Louis to surpass Emily Hughes (230 from 2008-10) for fifth all-time in SEMO history for career block assists (25-point rally scoring era from 2008 to present) with 234. Berns also ranks fifth overall at Southeast with 273 total blocks and sixth for solo blocks with 39. 
 
Berns has totaled 40 blocks this season which ranks sixth in the OVC.
 
Beilsmith Named to Panther Invitational All-Tournament Team
Freshman libero Tara Beilsmith was named to Milwaukee's Panther Invitational All-Tournament Team for her first career non-conference tournament honors last weekend. 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 199 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 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 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 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.
 
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
Southeast next opens its 2019 Ohio Valley Conference schedule on Tuesday when they welcome UT Martin to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, for Houck "Filled" House at 6 p.m. Help us break the Houck Field House volleyball attendance record! The first 500 fans to enter the arena receive a Redhawks "Friends" themed T-Shirt.