Southeast Missouri (0-2, 0-2 OVC)
vs. Eastern Kentucky (1-1, 1-1 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Venue: Houck Field House
First Serve: 4 p.m., CT
All-Time Series: SEMO leads 38-10
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
Southeast Missouri (0-2, 0-2 OVC)
vs. Eastern Kentucky (1-1, 1-1 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Monday, Feb. 15, 2021
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Venue: Houck Field House
First Serve: 2 p.m., CT
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Media Coverage
Twitter: @SEMOvb
Media Guide
 
Redhawks Host Eastern Kentucky Sunday and Monday to Open Home Slate
Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (0-2, 0-2 OVC) hosts Eastern Kentucky (1-1, 1-1 OVC) in a pair of matches Sunday and Monday at Houck Field House to continue its 2020-21 season. SEMO takes on the Colonels in its home opener Sunday at 4 p.m., CT before closing the series Monday at 2 p.m.
 
Follow the Redhawks
• Stats will be available for Sunday's and Monday's matches on GoSoutheast.com.
• Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
• @SEMOvb, the official Twitter page of Redhawks volleyball, will feature live in-game updates all season long.
 
Scouting the Colonels
Eastern Kentucky split its opening week against UT Martin on Feb. 7 and Feb. 8 at the McBrayer Arena. The Colonels dropped the season-opener, 1-3, on Feb. 7 before rallying to beat the Skyhawks in five, 3-2, on Feb. 8.
 
Molly Michalak was named the OVC Offensive Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week on Wednesday. She started her collegiate career with 34 kills (3.78 kills per set), 37 digs (4.11 digs per set) and 35 points (3.88 points per set) in two contests against UT Martin.
 
The Colonels were picked to finish the 2020-21 season 10th in the league.

Series History
SEMO leads the all-time series with Eastern Kentucky, 38-10. The Redhawks have won the last two meetings against EKU.
 
SEMO swept the Colonels in the lone 2019 contest on Oct. 19, 2019. The win marked the first time the Redhawks had beat EKU in Cape Girardeau since Oct. 9, 2015 (3-1). Krista Berns paced the offense with nine kills (.467) and a service ace. Maggie Adams (.667) and Laney Malloy each had eight rally stoppers. Annie Wehrheim added seven (.333) and Mikayla Kuhlmann had six (.313). Claire Ochs passed out 34 assists with eight digs and three service aces as the Redhawks hit a season-best .360 percentage.
 
About Last Week
SEMO opened its 2020-21 season with a pair of losses at Jacksonville State on Feb. 7 and Feb. 8 in Jacksonville, Alabama. The Redhawks fell in four in their season opener before a sweep to conclude the series.
 
Laney Malloy led the SEMO attack in its opening week at Jacksonville State with 28 kills and 18 digs. Malloy registered 14 kills and nine digs in each of the matches at JSU, posting a hitting clip of .273 in the series finale on Monday.
 
Claire Ochs ran the SEMO offense in their opening week at Jacksonville State with 70 assists as the Redhawks hit at a pace of .231 over the two matches. Ochs opened the season with 34 assists Sunday and concluded the series with 36 Monday. Ochs recorded her first double-double of the campaign and 37th in her career with 36 assists and 12 digs Monday. She also posted five kills in the second match of the series and finished the series with four service aces.
 
Tara Beilsmith led the Redhawks defense in their opening week at Jacksonville State with 34 digs. She posted 22 in the season opener Sunday and finished the series with 12 on Monday. She only had one receiving error in the two matches at JSU. Beilsmith also finished the week with five assists and an ace.
 
Redhawks Debuts
Freshmen Addy McAleer and Izzy Lukens both made their Redhawks debuts this past week at Jacksonville State.
 
McAleer, an outside hitter from Leawood, Kansas, started in both matches and tallied three kills and three digs. Lukens, a setter from Omaha, Nebraska, appeared in four of the six sets.           
 
Greene is our Favorite Color After Red
Colby Greene slammed down 22 kills in the opening week at Jacksonville State. The junior from North Liberty, Iowa, concluded the series in Alabama with 15 kills on a .324 clip.
 
ZOEY 101!!
Zoey Beasley was third on the team this past week with 15 kills on a .265 hitting clip at Jacksonville State. She registered a personal-best nine kills on a .467 rate in the season opener before finishing the series with six. 

Volleyball Ticketing Policies
In accordance with COVID-19 protocols, capacity at Houck Field House for SEMO volleyball matches will be reduced and fans will be asked to follow social distancing guidelines. There will be no single-match general admission available for the public for any home matches at Houck Field House.

A limited number of SEMO students will be admitted on a first-come, first-serve basis at each home match. As always, SEMO students receive free admission to all regular season home games with a valid SEMO ID.

In accordance with COVID-19 protocols, capacity at Houck Field House will be reduced with proper social distancing between seating groups. Masks will be required at all times at Houck Field House. If you are sick or experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, please stay home.
 
2020-21 OVC Preseason Poll
Four Redhawks were featured on the 2020-21 Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference team as the Redhawks were selected to finish first in the preseason poll. SEMO, the 2019 OVC Tournament Champions, earned 10 first place votes and 222 total votes in the predicted order of finish that was selected by OVC Head Volleyball Coaches and Sports Information Directors.
 
The Redhawks also had a league-best four players selected to the 2020-21 Preseason All-OVC volleyball team in middle blocker Maggie Adams, libero Tara Beilsmith, outside hitter Laney Malloy and setter Claire Ochs. All four were named to 2019 All-OVC Teams.
 
2019 OVC Tournament Champions
The #2-seeded Southeast Missouri women's volleyball team swept #4 Morehead State, 26-24, 25-19, 28-26, at the Pete Mathews Coliseum to capture the 2019 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Championship on Nov. 23, 2019. The title was the sixth for SEMO and first since 2006. With the victory, SEMO earned an automatic qualification to the 2019 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship where it faced #9-ranked Kentucky on Dec. 6, 2019.
 
SEMO also matched the 2000 Redhawks that totaled 23 wins (23-9, 16-0 OVC) with the victory on Nov. 23, 2019. Laney Malloy, Mikayla Kuhlmann and Claire Ochs were each named to the 2019 OVC All-Tournament Team. Ochs was selected as the tournament MVP. The trio are the first Redhawks awarded OVC All-Tournament Team honors since Colleen Yarber garnered the distinction in 2012.
 
Malloy led the Redhawks offense with 16 kills and 10 digs for the double-double on a .267. Kuhlmann chipped in 12 on a .417 hitting clip. Annie Wehrheim finished with seven kills (.300) and Maggie Adams had five kills and four total blocks. Ochs dished out 32 assists with eight digs and five kills. Tara Beilsmith led the SEMO defense with a match-high 18 digs.
 
SEMO concluded the 2019 campaign with a 23-11 record, finishing 12-4 in OVC play (second in the regular season).
 
Team Makeup
SEMO returns 12 players from the 2019 OVC Tournament Championship team. The 2020-21 Redhawks team features seven upperclassmen including Maggie Adams, Laney Malloy and Claire Ochs who were all starters and All-OVC performers in 2019. SEMO also returns its All-OVC libero in sophomore Tara Beilsmith.
 
There are also six newcomers on the 2020-21 squad including Radford sophomore transfer Mackenzie Meehan and freshmen Addy McAleer, Nwakaego Nwagbuo, Izzy Lukens, Lexie Smith and Kayla Closset.
 
Looking Ahead
SEMO continues its 2020-21 campaign with a trip to the Music City to face Belmont on Feb. 22 and Feb. 23. Match times are scheduled for 4 p.m., CT on both days and will be contested at the Curb Event Center.