Match #23 | OVC #11
Southeast Missouri (17-5, 8-2 OVC)
at Tennessee Tech (10-10, 5-4 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Friday, Oct. 22, 2021
Location: Cookeville, Tenn.
Venue: Eblen Center
First Serve: 6 p.m., CT
All-Time Series: SEMO leads TTU, 42-13
Last Meeting: SEMO 3-1 Win | Nov. 21, 2019 | 2019 OVC Championship Opening Round | Jacksonville, Ala.
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Live Video: ESPN+
 
Match #24 | OVC #12
Southeast Missouri (17-5, 8-2 OVC)
at Tennessee Tech (10-10, 5-4 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021
Location: Cookeville, Tenn.
Venue: Eblen Center
First Serve: 7 p.m., CT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Live Video: ESPN+
 
Media Coverage
Twitter: @SEMOvb
Media Guide: Southeast Missouri
Match Notes: Southeast Missouri
 
Redhawks Trek to Cookeville to Face Tennessee Tech in Weekend Series
Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (17-5, 8-2 OVC) travels to Cookeville, Tennessee, for a weekend series against Tennessee Tech (10-10, 5-4 OVC) Friday and Saturday. Match times are set for 6 p.m., CT and 7 p.m., respectively at the Eblen Center.
 
Follow the Redhawks
• Stats will be available for Friday and Saturday's matches on SEMORedhawks.com
• Live video for both matches will be streamed on ESPN+
• @SEMOvb, the official Twitter page of Redhawks volleyball, will feature live in-match updates all season long.
 
Series History
SEMO leads the all-time series with Tennessee Tech, 42-13.
 
The Redhawks won the most recent matchup between the two schools on Nov. 21, 2019, 3-1, to open their 2019 OVC Tournament Championship run. Mikayla Kuhlmann led the #2-seeded Redhawks offense with 13 kills. Laney Malloy was second on the team with 11 kills and had 14 digs for the double-double outing. Krista Berns and Annie Wehrheim each had eight kills and Maggie Adams chipped in seven. Claire Ochs finished with a double-double of 43 assists and 13 digs. Tara Beilsmith led the SEMO defense with 16 digs.
 
The two institutions last met in regular-season action Sept. 28, 2019 with TTU prevailing, 3-1, in Cookeville, Tennessee.
 
SEMO last beat the Golden Eagles on Oct. 6, 2018 (3-2, Cape Girardeau, Missouri) and last were victorious in Cookeville, Tennessee on Oct. 27, 2017 (3-0).

Scouting the Golden Eagles
Tennessee Tech is 10-10 overall in 2021 with a 5-4 mark in OVC play. TTU is sixth in the league currently.
 
The Golden Eagles are on a three-match losing skid with losses at Murray State (Oct. 15-16) and against Austin Peay (Oct. 9). Skylar Boom totaled 14 blocks over TTU's two matches last week.
 
Madolyn Isringhausen leads the Golden Eagles with 249 kills (3.36 kills/set) while Ashley Hand has tallied 731 assists (9.88 assists/set). McKenna Young has grabbed 298 digs (4.03 digs/set).
 
Beasley Named OVC Offensive Player of the Week
Junior Zoey Beasley was awarded Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second-straight week, the league announced Monday.
  
Beasley led the Redhawks offense this past week with 42 kills (4.20 kills/set) on a .333 hitting percentage. She opened the week with a career-best matching 21 kills on a .388 in the Tuesday midweek matchup at UTM. Beasley then registered 12 kills on a .400 hitting clip in the opener with SIUE. She concluded the series against the Cougars with nine kills.
 
Beasley also finished the week with five blocks and six digs and totaled 44.5 points (4.45 points/set).

Redhawks Sweep Series with SIUE
SEMO swept its series with SIUE this past weekend (Oct. 15-16) with a pair of 3-0 sweeps to extend its win streak to seven matches. The Redhawks have now notched 10 3-0 sweeps in 2021 and six in OVC competitions.
 
SEMO is currently second in the OVC standings behind Austin Peay (15-7, 8-1 OVC) and right above Morehead State (11-9, 7-2 OVC), which is third. 
 
Claire Ochs led the Redhawks with 97 assists (9.7 assists/set) as SEMO notched three wins over UT Martin and SIUE this week. SEMO hit .243 over the three matches. Ochs opened the series with SIUE, tallying 33 assists and seven digs. Ochs concluded the series with the Cougars with 30 assists and six digs. Ochs also finished the three-match week with 20 digs, two aces, three blocks and 14 kills on a rate of .478.
 
Tara Beilsmith led the SEMO defense with 51 total digs (5.10 digs/set) as SEMO notched three wins over UT Martin and SIUE this week. Beilsmith tallied 13 digs in each of the home matches with SIUE. Beilsmith also registered 15 assists (1.50 assists/set) and an ace over the three-match week.
 
Mackenzie Meehan led the SEMO defense with 14 total blocks as SEMO notched three wins over UT Martin and SIUE this week. She finished the series against SIUE with six blocks in the Saturday evening matchup. Meehan also totaled four kills and six digs during the three-match week.
 
Redhawks Split Regular-Season Series with UTM
SEMO downed UT Martin in four sets (16-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-21) Oct. 12 at the Skyhawk Fieldhouse to even the regular-season series at 1-1.
 
In the second meeting between the two OVC travel partners in just under a two-week span, SEMO handed the Skyhawks their second loss in conference play and halted the UTM win streak at six matches.
 
With the victory, SEMO knotted the 2021 series with UT Martin at 1-1, with each institution capturing a victory on the road. The triumph was SEMO's third in five days.
 
Zoey Beasley matched a career-high 21 kills on a .388 hitting clip. Claire Ochs dished out 34 assists with a personal-best matching eight kills (.538) and seven digs. Tara Beilsmith led the defense with a match-high 25 digs and seven assists. Ally Dion added eight digs and Megan Harris posted seven.

Our Libero, Tara Beilsmith, Ladies and Gentlemen
Tara Beilsmith is third in the nation with 445 total digs (first in the OVC) in 2021. She is third in the OVC with 5.30 digs per set (13th in the NCAA). Beilsmith has registered double-digit digs in all but one match in 2021. She notched a career-high 39 digs against Memphis on Sept. 10.
 
In league play, Beilsmith is tied for fifth with 4.81 digs/set (173 digs).

Ochs Leads the OVC for Assists
Claire Ochs paces the league with 846 assists this season, which is third in the NCAA. Ochs is averaging 10.07 assists/set (third in the OVC). She also ranks 12th in the OVC with 233 digs.
  
Ochs paces the Redhawks with 13 double-doubles in 2021. In league play, Ochs is third with 354 assists (9.83 assists/set, fourth).
 
Malloy Ranks Top-3 in the OVC
Laney Malloy leads the league in 2021 with 382 total points, 33 service aces, aces per set (0.39) and 975 total attacks. She is second with 332 total kills.
 
Malloy is also third for attacks per set (11.61), kills per set (3.95) and points per set (4.55). Malloy is 10th in the conference with 234 digs.
 
In OVC play, Malloy ranks first with 140 kills (3.89 kills/set) followed by Zoey Beasley (third, 133 kills, 3.69 kills/set). She is also the conference leader for points (162.5, 4.51 points/set). Malloy is second for aces with 14 (0.39 aces/set, third).

Malloy has posted double-digit kills in 18 matches in 2021. She registered a career-best 25 kills to complement 23 digs against Memphis (9/10) and finished the tournament with 20 kills and 16 digs versus Arkansas State (9/11). Malloy opened the Redhawks Invitational with 23 kills and 10 digs on a .457 clip against Tulsa (9/17).
 
She most recently had 20 kills on a .486 clip with seven digs in the opener with SIUE (Oct. 15).
 
The Beas Knees
Junior outside hitter Zoey Beasley is second on the Redhawks with 269 kills (3.20 kills/set, eighth in the OVC) in 2021, which ranks fifth in the OVC. She is also seventh in the league with 293.0 points and 716 total attacks.
 
In league play, she is third with kills (133, 3.69 kills/set) and sixth with points (3.99 points/set, 143.5 total points).

Beasley has led the Redhawks offensively in four of the last five matches. She matched a career-best 21 kills to close the regular-season series with UT Martin Tuesday (Oct. 12) on a .388 percentage.
 
She notched 11 kills on a .478 in the series opener with EIU on Oct. 8 before 14 on a .345 clip in the finale on Oct. 9.

Beasley was named to her first career all-tournament team at the Redhawks Invitational and started the Invitational with 14 kills on a .300 rate against Tulsa (9/17).
 
Beasley commenced the CEFCU Invitational with her first career double-double of 20 kills and 10 digs against DePaul in the season opener on Aug. 27. She also belted a career-best 21 kills on a .341 hitting percentage with six digs at Western Michigan (Sept. 3).
 
Our Favorite Color Besides Red is Greene
Redshirt-junior rightside hitter Colby Greene is third on SEMO offensively with 213 kills. She ranks 14th in the OVC with 2.57 kills per set.
 
She most recently posted 12 kills in a pair of sweeps of SIUE (Oct. 15-16).

Greene tallied 11 kills in the opener with EIU on Oct. 8, compiling a .348 hitting clip. She also had eight kills in the EIU series finale (10/9) and six in the final regular-season matchup against UT Martin (10/12).
 
She knocked a career-best 23 kills on a .283 clip with three digs in the first meeting with UT Martin (9/29) in 2021. Greene also finished with 19 kills in the series with Belmont (10/1-2) including 12 on a .611 rate in the finale.
 
Greene concluded SEMO's non-conference slate with 11 kills against Tulsa (Sept. 17) and 10 kills versus Central Arkansas (Sept. 18) to earn her first career all-tournament team honor.
 
Greene opened the 2021 campaign with 17 kills on a .245 clip against DePaul (8/27). She chipped in 14 kills in both of SEMO's five-set matches against Western Michigan (Sept. 3) and Indiana (Sept. 4).
 
Mack Attack
Mackenzie Meehan, a transfer from Radford, has led the Redhawks blocking in the last eight matches. Meehan registered a career-high seven in the series finales at Eastern Illinois (10/9) and at UT Martin (10/12), respectively. She most recently posted six in the series finale with SIUE (10/16).
 
Meehan has started in the last eight Redhawk matches. She also compiled a career best six kills with a dig and a block against Belmont on Oct. 1.
 
In OVC play, Meehan is sixth with 1.06 blocks/set (33.0 total blocks).
 
Meehan made her Redhawks debut at the 2021 SEMO Invitational Sept. 10-11. The redshirt-sophomore middle blocker from Crofton, Maryland, finished with three kills and four blocks. She made her first career start at SEMO against Memphis on Sept. 10, tallying two kills and a block.

Harris with the Ace!
Megan Harris totaled 18 digs (3.00 digs/set) and nine service aces (1.50 aces/set) as SEMO swept its series at Eastern Illinois (Oct. 8-9).
 
Harris, a freshman defensive specialist from Nesbit, Mississippi, opened the series with three aces and seven digs in the opener. She then followed up that performance with a career-best 11 digs and six service aces. Harris made her first two career starts as a Redhawk against EIU in Charleston, Illinois. She also totaled three assists and a kill over the two matches.
 
She most recently posted nine digs with two assists and an ace in the series opener with SIUE On Oct. 15.
 
In OVC play, Harris leads the league with 0.50 aces per set (11 aces).
 
The Blocking Trio of TG, Greene and Liss-Ness
Talia Gouard (55.0 total blocks, 0.73 block/set), Colby Greene (48.0 total blocks, 0.57 blocks/set) and Elissa Moylan (43.0 total blocks, 0.77 block/set) pace the Redhawks in 2021 at the net as SEMO ranks third in the league with 167.5 total blocks (1.99 blocks/set, seventh in the OVC).
 
Mackenzie Meehan (0.97 blocks/set) has 40 total blocks and Zoey Beasley has chipped in 36.0 (0.43 blocks/set) while Laney Malloy and Claire Ochs each have 27 (0.32 blocks/set).
 
All-Time Attacks Leader
Laney Malloy is 30 attacks away from overtaking Krissa Gearring (2014-17, 4095) for first all-time in SEMO history (25-point rally scoring era from 2008-present). Malloy is currently at 4,066 total attacks in her career. Overall, Malloy ranks fifth in SEMO program history as Laura Dill had 5,641 from 1987-90.
 
With 24 attacks, Malloy will reach 1,000 for the second time in her career. She registered 1,409 attacks in 2019.

Yankus Approaching 100 OVC Wins
With eight wins thus far in OVC play, head coach Julie Yankus is one career win away from 100 in conference competitions.
 
Yankus will become the second coach in SEMO program history to reach 100 OVC wins as Cindy Gannon totaled 204 from 1989-2004 (SEMO joined the OVC in 1991).
 
Leading the Conference
SEMO leads the OVC for team assists (1,009, sixth in the NCAA), team digs (1,436, fourth in the NCAA), team kills (1,100, sixth in the NCAA), team service aces (136, 17th in the NCAA), team total attacks (3,118, third in the NCAA), match win loss percentage (.773) and opposing hitting percentage (.137, ninth in the NCAA).

SEMO is also second in the conference for aces per set (1.62).
 
The Redhawks rank third for digs per set (17.10), hitting percentage (.215) and total blocks (167.5).
 
In league play, SEMO is first for opponent hitting percentage (.117) and service aces (60, 1.67 aces/set). The team is also second for hitting percentage (.217) and third for digs (16.11 digs/set, 580).
 
Welcome to the 1,000 Dig, 1,000 Kill Club, Laney Malloy
Laney Malloy surpassed 1,000 career digs Sept. 24 in SEMO's win over Tennessee State. She paced the Redhawks with 19 kills and 20 digs to go along with three service aces, two assists and a block in the match.
 
Malloy previously overcame 1,000 career kills at Western Michigan's Discover Kalamazoo Classic (Sept. 3-4) and is the first Redhawk since Krissa Gearring (2014-2017) to join the 1,000 kills, 1,000 digs club.
 
Malloy ranks 10th at SEMO in program history with 1,088 career digs and second for career kills with 1,255.

1,000 Digs Club
Both senior setter Claire Ochs and junior libero Tara Beilsmith surpassed 1,000 career digs Sept. 10-11 at the 2021 SEMO Invitational. Ochs has 1,115 in her career to complement 3,765 career assists.
 
Beilsmith has 1,249 career digs as a Redhawk. She is sixth all-time for career digs in the 25-point rally-scoring era (2008-present) followed by Ochs who is ninth.
 
Yankus Hits 150 Wins at SEMO
With two wins at the SEMO Invitational (Sept. 10-11), head coach Julie Yankus hit 150 while at the helm of SEMO.
 
She ranks third in program history for wins behind Cindy Gannon (366, 1989-2004) and Lana Flynn (Richmond) (203, 1982-1988).
 
Non-Conference Recap
SEMO notched a 9-3 non-conference record with a pair of tournament titles at Bradley's CEFCU Invitational (Aug. 27-28) and at the Redhawks Invitational (Sept. 17-18).
 
The Redhawks compiled wins over DePaul, Bradley, Central Michigan, Purdue Fort Wayne, Marshall, Memphis, Tulsa, Southern Illinois and Central Arkansas.
 
SEMO fell in five sets at Western Michigan, against the Big Ten's Indiana, and Arkansas State.
 
Laney Malloy was named to the all-tournament all four weekends including MVP twice. Tara Beilsmith (2), Claire Ochs, Zoey Beasley and Colby Greene each were selected to all-tournament teams.
  
Oh Captains, My Captains
Head coach Julie Yankus announced Aug. 26 SEMO's three captains for the 2021 season. Senior outside hitter Laney Malloy, senior setter Claire Ochs and junior libero Tara Beilsmith will lead this year's team. Malloy and Ochs have been Redhawks captains since the 2019 season. For Beilsmith, it is her first season as captain.

Missouri Baptist Exhibition Recap
SEMO opened its 2021 season with a 3-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-18) exhibition victory over Missouri Baptist, the 2021 NAIA National Champions, on Aug. 12.  
 
SEMO Schedule
The Redhawks will play 30 regular-season matches along with an exhibition to start the season. The schedule features four non-conference tournaments including two in Cape and a full 18-match Ohio Valley Conference slate. The Redhawks will host 16 home contests (including an exhibition) in 2021.
   
2020-21 Season Recap
The Redhawks finished with a 14-3 overall record in 2020-21. SEMO posted a 14-2 record in OVC play for third in the league and the no. 3 seed at the 2020-21 OVC Championship Tournament.
 
After dropping their opening weekend at Jacksonville State, SEMO went on a 14-match win streak with seven series victories. SEMO's 14 league wins in 2020-21 are the most in the past 13 seasons as the 2007 SEMO team finished with a mark of 15-5.
 
The Redhawks' OVC winning percentage of .875 was the highest since 2000, when SEMO was perfect in league play, 16-0 (1.000). SEMO last finished an OVC slate with a record of 14-2 in 1995.
  
Team Makeup
The Redhawks return 15 letterwinners and all but one starter from the 2020-21 squad. Defensive specialist Ally Dion and All-OVC outside hitter, Laney Malloy, both return for their fifth-year senior seasons along with true seniors, All-OVC setter, Claire Ochs, Elissa Moylan and Caroline Draver.
 
Other top returners include juniors Tara Beilsmith (starting libero, 2019 All-OVC player), Talia Gouard (starting middle blocker), Colby Greene (starting right side) and Zoey Beasley (starting outside hitter).
 
Malloy led the Redhawks offensively in the spring with 226 kills (3.83 kills per set) for 2020-21 All-OVC First-Team honors. Greene was second on SEMO with 155 kills (2.63 kills/set) and Beasley ranked third on the squad with 153 (2.78 kills/set). Gouard was fourth with 99 kills (1.68 kills/set).
 
Dion was fourth in the OVC for service aces with 23 (0.39 aces per set). She was also ninth in the conference with 216 total digs (team-high). Malloy was second on the team with 186 digs followed by Beilsmith (163) and Ochs (155).
 
Ochs was third in the OVC for assists with 608 (10.31 assists/set) for 2020-21 All-OVC First-Team and All-Tournament Team laurels.
 
The 2021 roster features 10 upperclassmen and two newcomers in freshmen Megan Harris (defensive specialist/libero) and Avery Torrey (rightside hitter).
 
The team also includes nine OVC Tournament Champions from the 2019 season.
 
Academic Excellence
Colby Greene, Izzy Lukens, Addy McAleer and Elissa Moylan earned perfect 4.0 GPAs during the 2020-21 academic year and were named Ohio Valley Conference Academic Medals of Honor recipients.
 
SEMO volleyball also had 13 student-athletes listed on the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll for the 2020-21 academic year. Maggie Adams, Zoey Beasley, Tara Beilsmith, Kayla Closset, Caroline Draver, Talia Gouard, Colby Greene, Izzy Lukens, Laney Malloy, Addy McAleer, Elissa Moylan, Claire Ochs and Kylie Plant all notched at least a 3.25 grade point average in 2020-21.
 
Looking Ahead
SEMO next returns to Cape Girardeau to face current OVC leader, Austin Peay Oct. 28-29 at Houck Field House. First service is set for 7 p.m. and 5 p.m., CT in the weekend matchup.