OVC Matches #13 & #14
 
Southeast Missouri (10-2, 10-2 OVC)
at Eastern Illinois (2-10, 2-10 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Sunday, March 21, 2021
Location: Charleston, Ill.
Venue: Lantz Arena
First Serve: 6 p.m., CT
All-Time Series: SEMO leads the all-time series, 37-21-1
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: SIDEARM Stats
 
Southeast Missouri (10-2, 10-2 OVC)
at Eastern Illinois (2-10, 2-10 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Monday, March 22, 2021
Location: Charleston, Ill.
Venue: Lantz Arena
First Serve: 5 p.m., CT
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: SIDEARM Stats

Media Coverage
Twitter: @SEMOvb
Media Guide
 
Redhawks Close 2020-21 Road Slate with Series at Eastern Illinois Sunday and Monday
Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (10-2, 10-2 OVC) concludes its 2020-21 Ohio Valley Conference regular-season road schedule Sunday and Monday against Eastern Illinois (2-10, 2-10 OVC) in Charleston, Illinois. First service is scheduled for 6 p.m., CT Sunday and 5 p.m. Monday at Lantz Arena.
 
Follow the Redhawks
• Stats will be available for Sunday's and Monday's matches on GoSoutheast.com.
• Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.
• @SEMOvb, the official Twitter page of Redhawks volleyball, will feature live in-game updates all season long.
 
Scouting the Panthers
Eastern Illinois has tallied a record of 2-10, 2-10 OVC this season and most recently split its series at Murray State March 14-15.

Series History
SEMO leads the all-time series with Eastern Illinois, 37-21-1. The Redhawks have won the last five meetings between the two institutions including a pair of 3-0 sweeps in 2019.
 
SEMO most recently swept the Panthers, 25-12, 25-13, 25-13, in its 2019 regular-season finale on Nov. 16, 2019, at Lantz Arena in Charleston, Illinois. Laney Malloy led the Redhawks offense with 13 kills and 12 digs on a .343 hitting clip for the double-double as SEMO connected at a .350 hitting clip compared to EIU's .050.
 
Claire Ochs dished out 29 assists with seven digs as SEMO led the assist category, 41-19. Tara Beilsmith led the defense with 21 digs.
 
Malloy Named OVC Offensive Player of the Week
Senior outside hitter Laney Malloy was named the Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced Wednesday. The honor marked the second career weekly laurel for Malloy who previously earned OVC Newcomer of the Week in 2018.

About Last Week
SEMO extended its win streak to 10 matches with a series sweep of Austin Peay March 14-15. SEMO beat APSU 25-18, 25-20, 26-24 on March 14 and then outlasted the Governors in five on March 15. The Redhawks have won five straight series during the 2020-21 campaign.
 
SEMO also distanced itself from Austin Peay in the Ohio Valley Conference standings as the two institutions entered the series tied for third.
 
Laney Malloy led the Redhawks offense with 35 kills (4.38 kills/set) on a .255 hitting clip. Malloy also posted 17 digs over the two contests. She opened the week with a 16-kill outing on a .293 rate March 14. Malloy also registered six digs, three assists and two aces in the series opener. She concluded the week with a double-double of 19 kills and 11 digs in SEMO's five-set win March 15. Malloy hit at a clip of .228 in the second match of the series. She totaled four assists, four aces and three blocks over the two matches.
 
Malloy leads the OVC with 184 total kills (4.18 kills/set, third), 12.05 attacks per set (530 total attacks) and 206.5 points (4.69 points/set) in 2020-21.
 
With the absence of Tara Beilsmith, senior libero Ally Dion led the Redhawks defense this past week. Dion posted a team-best 42 digs over the two matches including a season-best 27 digs and five assists March 15 in the series finale. She opened the series with 15 digs on March 14. Dion also totaled nine assists and three service aces over the two matches.
 
Claire Ochs ran the Redhawks offense this past week, dishing out 72 assists as SEMO hit at a clip of .230. Ochs opened the series with a double-double of 28 assists and 14 digs as the Redhawks finished with a hitting percentage of .269. She finished the week with 44 assists, eight digs and eight kills in the series finale on March 15. Over the two matches, Ochs totaled 13 kills and 22 digs.
 
Ochs ranks third in the OVC with 448 total assists this season (10.18 assists/set).
 
Freshman Addy McAleer posted 15 digs this past week. McAleer opened the series with four digs on March 14 before notching a career-high 11 digs and three kills in March 15's series finale. McAleer added two assists and a service ace over the two matches.

The Beas Knees
Sophomore Zoey Beasley matched a career-high 17 kills Feb 28 against SIUE, finishing with a .389 hitting clip, for her third-straight double-digit kill match.
 
She has registered double-digit kill matches in seven of the last eight SEMO matches. Beasley had 10 and 15 in the two matches most recently against Austin Peay March 14-15.
 
Beasley is tied for second on the team with Colby Greene (2.61 kills/set) with 115 kills (2.88 kills/set).
 
Adams with the Block
Senior Maggie Adams is first in the OVC with 49.0 total blocks (1.11 blocks/set, third).

Talia Gouard is second on the team with 41.0 total blocks (0.93 blocks/set, 8th in the OVC) and Colby Greene has posted 32.0 (0.73 blocks/set).
 
Offensively, Adams has posted 36 kills (0.82 kills/set) thus far.
 
Block Party!!
SEMO ranks third in the OVC with 95.0 total blocks (2.16 blocks/set, fourth).
 
SEMO ACE!!
SEMO ranks second in the conference with 77 total team aces this season (1.75 aces/set, third).
 
Ally Dion paces the Redhawks with 0.41 aces per set (18 aces), which puts her fifth in the league. Kayla Closset (0.36 aces/set), Claire Ochs (0.30 aces/set) and Laney Malloy (0.30 aces/set) are tied for second on SEMO with 13. Tara Beilsmith has 10 (0.28 aces/set) and Izzy Lukens has six (0.15 aces/set). 
 
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 is 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 will wrap up their 2020-21 regular season March 28 and 29 at home at Houck Field House against Murray State. The Redhawks will recognize seniors Maggie Adams, Ally Dion and Laney Malloy on March 29.  Match times are set for 7 p.m., CT and 2 p.m. in the Sunday, Monday matchup with the Racers.