Southeast Missouri (0-0, 0-0 OVC)
at Jacksonville State 
Match Information
Date: Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021
Location: Jacksonville, Ala. 
Venue: Pete Mathews Coliseum
First Serve: 3 p.m., CT
All-Time Series: Jacksonville State and SEMO are tied 15-15 in the All-Time Series
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
at Jacksonville State 
Match Information
Date: Monday, Feb. 8, 2021
Location: Jacksonville, Ala. 
Venue: Pete Mathews Coliseum
First Serve: 3 p.m., CT
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
Redhawks Open 2020-21 Volleyball Season on the Road at JSU Sunday and Monday 
Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (0-0, 0-0 OVC) opens the 2020-21 season on the road with a pair of matches against Jacksonville State (0-0, 0-0 OVC) Sunday and Monday in a clash of 2019 Ohio Valley Conference Champions. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m., CT in both matches held at the Pete Mathews Coliseum.
 
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 Gamecocks
Jacksonville State fashioned a 20-10 (13-3 OVC) record to capture the 2019 OVC Regular Season Title. As the top seed in the 2019 OVC Tournament, the Gamecocks fell to #4 Morehead State, the eventual runners-up to the Redhawks, in the semifinals, 25-20, 25-23, 25-20, on Nov. 22, 2019. 
 
JSU was selected to finish second this season in the preseason OVC poll behind SEMO. The Gamecocks received five first place votes. 

The Gamecocks return 2019 OVC Setter of the Year Lexie Libs, who was also named to the 2020 pre-season All-OVC squad along with junior outside Lena Kindermann, who led JSU in kills a season ago with 367. Just behind Kindermann, senior Kaylie Milton also is back following a 316-kill, 262-dig campaign in 2019. Between Milton, Libs, senior Dani Steele and sophomore libero Erin Carmichael, the Gamecocks return their top four dig leaders from last season.
 
JSU has six newcomers on this year's squad with five freshmen and a junior transfer from Southern Utah in Katie Montgomery.

Series History
SEMO and Jacksonville State are tied in the all-time series at 15-15. The Redhawks won the most recent meeting, 3-1, on Nov. 2, 2019 at Houck Field House. In that contest, SEMO extended its win streak to six in 2019 after a 25-19, 19-25, 25-20, 25-23 victory. Mikayla Kuhlmann led the Redhawks offense with 14 kills. Laney Malloy was second on the team with a double-double of 12 kills and 11 digs. Krista Berns also had 12 kills on a .625 hitting clip.
 
SEMO last played JSU in Jacksonville, Alabama, on Nov. 10, 2018, a 3-0 sweep for the Gamecocks. 
 
Last time at the Pete Mathews Coliseum…
SEMO captured the 2019 OVC Tournament Championship over Morehead State on Nov. 23, 2019 in their most recent visit to the Pete Mathews Coliseum. The victory capped a 3-0 run at the Pete Mathews Coliseum in 2019 and earned the Redhawks their sixth tournament title in school history. 
 
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
After the Redhawks opening pair of matches at Jacksonville State, SEMO returns to Cape Girardeau for its home opener. The Redhawks host Eastern Kentucky on Sunday, Feb. 14 and Monday, Feb. 15 at Houck Field House. First service is scheduled for 4 p.m., CT and 2 p.m. for SEMO's first two home matches of the 2020-21 season.