Redhawks Invitational
 
Match #10 (Redhawks Invitational Match #1)
Tulsa (3-3)
vs. Southeast Missouri (6-3)
Match Information
Date: Friday, Sept. 17, 2021
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Venue: Houck Field House
First Serve: 10:30 a.m., CT
All-Time Series: SEMO leads 4-1
Last Meeting: 3-1 SEMO Win | Sept. 10, 1992
Live Stats: StatsBroadcast
Live Video: ESPN+
Tickets
 
Match #11 (Redhawks Invitational Match #2)
Southern Illinois (5-5)
vs. Southeast Missouri (6-3)
Match Information
Date: Friday, Sept. 17, 2021
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Venue: Houck Field House
First Serve: 7 p.m., CT
All-Time Series: SIU leads 21-10
Last Meeting: SIU 3-2 Win | Sept. 10, 2019 | Carbondale, Illinois
Live Stats: StatsBroadcast
Live Video: ESPN+
Tickets

Match #12 (SEMO Invitational Match #3)
Central Arkansas (1-5)
vs. Southeast Missouri (6-3)
Match Information
Date: Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Venue: Houck Field House
First Serve: 3 p.m., CT
All-Time Series: SEMO and UCA are tied at 1-1
Last Meeting: 3-0 UCA Win | Sept. 5, 2009
Live Stats: StatsBroadcast
Live Video: ESPN+
Tickets
 
Redhawks Invitational Tournament Schedule
Friday, Sept. 17
Match 1 – SEMO vs. Tulsa – 10:30 a.m. | Live Statistics | ESPN+
Match 2 – SIU vs. Central Arkansas – 1 p.m. | Live Statistics 
Match 3 – Central Arkansas vs. Tulsa – 4:30 p.m. | Live Statistics
Match 4 – SEMO vs. SIU – 7 p.m. | Live Statistics | ESPN+

Saturday, Sept. 18
Match 5 – Tulsa vs. SIU – 12 p.m. | Live Statistics
Match 6 – SEMO vs. Central Arkansas – 3 p.m. | Live Statistics | ESPN+
 
Media Coverage
Twitter: @SEMOvb
Media Guide: Southeast Missouri
Match Notes: Southeast Missouri
Match Notes: Tulsa
Match Notes: Central Arkansas
Tournament Central
Tournament Information (PDF)
 
Southeast Missouri Hosts Redhawks Invitational this Weekend to Conclude Non-Conference Slate
Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (6-3) will host Tulsa, Southern Illinois and Central Arkansas this weekend in the 2021 Redhawks Invitational at Houck Field House.
 
The Redhawks take on Tulsa Friday morning at 10:30 a.m., CT to open their second-straight home tournament. SEMO then closes the opening day of the Invitational against border rival, Southern Illinois, at 7 p.m. The Redhawks conclude non-conference play Saturday against Central Arkansas at 3 p.m.
 
Follow the Redhawks
• Stats will be available for Friday and Saturday's matches on SEMORedhawks.com
• Live video for all three SEMO matches will be streamed on ESPN+
• @SEMOvb, the official Twitter page of Redhawks volleyball, will feature live in-match updates all season long.
 
Scouting the Opponents
Golden Hurricane
Tulsa has registered a 3-3 mark thus far in 2021. The Golden Hurricane most recently lost to Stephen F. Austin and Arkansas before edging Oral Roberts at their home Tulsa Invitational Sept. 10-11. All three matches went to four sets. Kayley Cassaday and Marta Pecalli were named to the Tulsa Invitational All-Tournament Team.
 
Tulsa had its opening weekend Husker Invitational cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols within the Hurricane program. Tulsa then went 2-1 at the UTA Classic Sept. 3-4 with wins over UT Arlington and North Texas.
 
Salukis
Southern Illinois has fashioned a 5-5 record to start the 2021 season. The Salukis have posted 2-1 marks the past two weekends at their home tournaments, the Saluki Bash (Sept. 3-4) and the Saluki Invitational (Sept. 10-11). SIU beat UT Martin in five at the Saluki Bash on Sept. 3 but fell to Eastern Illinois, 3-2, to open the Saluki Invitational on Sept. 10. Southern Illinois swept South Carolina Upstate and Alabama State to close the Saluki Invitational.
 
SIU was pegged to finish 10th in the Missouri Valley Conference.
 
Sugar Bears
Central Arkansas is 1-5 in 2021 and has lost its last five matches. UCA was swept by South Dakota, Bradley and Milwaukee at the South Dakota Classic held Sept. 10-11. The Sugar Bears last won a set against Missouri State on Sept. 3 and opened the UCA Invitational with a 3-2 victory over Little Rock.
 
Central Arkansas was selected to finish eighth in its inaugural season in the ASUN Conference.
 
Series History
Golden Hurricane
SEMO leads the all-time series with Tulsa, 4-1. The Redhawks have won the last three meetings. The two teams last played Sept. 10, 1992, a 3-1 SEMO win.
 
Salukis
Southern Illinois leads the all-time series with SEMO, 21-10. The Salukis won the most recent match in the rivalry, 3-2, in Carbondale, Illinois, on Sept. 10, 2019. Colby Greene blasted a personal-best 20 kills on a .300 hitting percentage. Tara Beilsmith posted 25 digs in the match while Claire Ochs finished with 39 assists.
 
SEMO previously swept SIU on Sept. 4, 2018, at Houck Field House, its second win for head coach Julie Yankus over her former school. Yankus served as an associate head coach at Southern Illinois from 2007-2010. Krista Berns led the Redhawks with a season high eight kills on a .438 hitting percentage and both Maggie Adams (.385) and Madara Bajare chipped in six. Claire Ochs paced SEMO with 29 assists and added 11 digs for her second career assist-dig double-double. Ally Dion led SEMO defensively with 14 digs.
 
Sugar Bears
SEMO and UCA are tied in the all-time series at 1-1. The Redhawks and Sugar Bears last met on Sept. 5, 2009, a 3-0 sweep for Central Arkansas.
 
Beilsmith Named OVC Defensive Player of the Week
Junior libero Tara Beilsmith was named the OVC Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday. Beilsmith led the SEMO defense this past weekend with 90 digs to earn 2021 SEMO Invitational all-tournament team honors. She concluded the opening day of the tournament with a career best 39 digs against Memphis on Sept. 10.
 
Beilsmith notched 25 digs in the tournament opener against Marshall on Sept. 10 and finished the tournament with 26 digs in the match with Arkansas State on Sept. 11. She also totaled 17 assists and four aces over the weekend.
 
The weekly honor marks the second for Beilsmith this season and fifth in her career.
 
Our Libero, Tara Beilsmith, Ladies and Gentlemen
Tara Beilsmith leads the nation with 224 total digs in 2021. She is also second in the OVC with 5.89 digs per set (fifth in the NCAA).
 
SEMO Invitational Recap
The Redhawks went 2-1 at its 2021 SEMO Invitational this past weekend (Sept. 10-11) at Houck Field House. SEMO beat Marshall in four before overcoming previously undefeated Memphis on Sept. 10 in five sets. The Redhawks closed the tournament with a five-set loss to Arkansas State.
 
Tara Beilsmith and Laney Malloy were both named to the 2021 SEMO Invitational all-tournament team. Malloy led SEMO with 61 kills and 47 digs at the tournament. Beilsmith concluded the Invitational with 90 digs while Claire Ochs handed out 139 assists with 48 digs.
 
Ochs Leads the OVC for Assists
Claire Ochs paces the league with 380 assists this season (11th in the NCAA). She also ranks fourth in the OVC with 122 digs and for assists per set (9.76).
 
In the past three matches, Ochs has registered 38 or more assists. She compiled 38 against Marshall (9/10) with nine digs. Ochs then posted 49 assists, 19 digs and eight kills in the five-set victory over Memphis (9/10). She concluded the SEMO Invitational with a season-best 52 assists, 20 digs and eight kills.
 
Ochs paces the Redhawks with Laney Malloy, with six double-doubles in 2021.
 
Malloy Ranks Top-3 in the OVC
Laney Malloy leads the league in 2021 with 469 total attacks. She is second in the OVC for attacks per set (12.34), points (168.5), aces (13) and kills (148). Malloy is also seventh in the conference with 108 digs followed by Ally Dion who has 97 digs (10th in the OVC).
 
Malloy has posted double-digit kills in all nine 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).
 
The Beas Knees
Junior outside hitter Zoey Beasley is second on the Redhawks with 109 kills (2.87 kills/set) in 2021. She opened the CEFCU Invitational with her first career double-double of 20 kills and 10 digs against DePaul in the season opener on Aug. 27. Beasley belted a career-best 21 kills on a .341 hitting percentage with six digs at Western Michigan (Sept. 3). She notched 11 or more kills in the last three matches at the SEMO Invitational including 13 against Marshall (9/10) on a .455 clip. Beasley concluded the tournament with 11 kills and eight digs versus Arkansas State (9/11).
 
She ranks fourth in the OVC with 323 attacks, fifth for kills and sixth with 122.0 total points.
 
Our Favorite Color Besides Red is Greene
Redshirt-junior rightside hitter Colby Greene is third on SEMO offensively with 98 kills (2.58 kills/set). 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). Greene most recently notched nine or more in all three of the Redhawks matches at the SEMO Invitational (9/10-11). She tallied 10 kills against Memphis (9/10) and concluded the weekend with 15 kills against Arkansas State (9/11).
 
The Blocking Duo of TG and Liss-Ness
Talia Gouard (32.0 total blocks) and Elissa Moylan (30.0 total blocks) pace the Redhawks in 2021 at the net as SEMO leads the league with 83.0 total blocks. The duo ranks third and fourth in the league for total blocks, respectively.
 
Colby Greene has chipped in 24.0 total blocks while Zoey Beasley has 18.0 followed by Laney Malloy (14.0).
 
Approaching the 1,000 Dig, 1,000 Kill Club
Laney Malloy ranks 12th at SEMO in program history with 962 career digs and just recently overcame 1,000 career kills (1070) at Western Michigan's Discover Kalamazoo Classic (Sept. 3-4).
 
Malloy has registered 974 career digs (12 at UIC) and is 26 digs away from 1,000. She will become the first Redhawk since Krissa Gearring (2014-2017) to join the 1,000 kills, 1,000 digs club.
 
1,000 Digs Club
Both senior setter Claire Ochs and junior libero Tara Beilsmith surpassed 1,000 career digs this past weekend at the 2021 SEMO Invitational. Ochs tallied 48 and now has 1,004 in her career to complement 3,299 career assists.
 
Beilsmith concluded the weekend with 90 digs and now has 1,028 career digs as a Redhawk. She is eighth all-time for career digs in the 25-point rally-scoring era (2008-present) followed by Ochs who is ninth.
 
Leading the Conference
SEMO leads the OVC for team assists (453), team digs (719), team kills (485), team total attacks (1,488) and team total blocks (83.0). The Redhawks lead the nation with team digs and are fourth for total attacks.
 
SEMO is also second in the conference with 18.92 digs per set (fifth in the NCAA), opposing hitting percentage (.145), and team attacks per set (39.16, ninth in the NCAA).
 
Debut of the Mack
Mackenzie Meehan, a transfer from Radford, made her Redhawks debut this past weekend at the 2021 SEMO Invitational. Meehan, a redshirt-junior 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.
 
Megan Harris with the Dig
Megan Harris, a freshman defensive specialist from Nesbit, Mississippi, registered four and five digs (career-best) in SEMO's final two matches this past weekend against Memphis (9/10) and Arkansas State (9/11). She also had a service ace in each of those matches.
 
SEMO SIU Connection
Head Coach Julie Yankus will take on Southern Illinois, her former school Friday evening at the 2021 Redhawks Invitational. Yankus served as an associate head coach at Southern Illinois from 2007-2010 and has beaten the Salukis twice while at the helm of the Redhawks.
 
Yankus Hits 150 Wins at SEMO
With two wins at the SEMO Invitational, head coach Julie Yankus hit 150 while at the helm of SEMO.
 
CEFCU Invitational Champions
SEMO captured Bradley's 2021 CEFCU Invitational Championship with victories over DePaul (Aug. 27, 3-1), tournament host, Bradley (Aug. 28, 3-1), and Central Michigan (3-0, Aug. 28) at the Renaissance Coliseum to open the 2021 campaign. The Redhawks last started a season 3-0 in 2018 (5-0 to start the campaign). Laney Malloy, Claire Ochs and Tara Beilsmith were named to the 2021 CEFCU Invitational All-Tournament Team. Malloy was named the tournament MVP.
 
For Malloy, it was her fifth career all-tournament team and first MVP honor. Ochs was also named to her fifth career all-tournament team while it was Beilsmith's second laurel in her career at SEMO.
 
Malloy led the SEMO offense with 42 kills, 33 digs, 12 blocks and seven assists. Ochs dished out 123 assists with 46 digs, 12 kills, three blocks and two aces. Beilsmith compiled 84 digs with five assists and two aces. Ochs (3) and Malloy (2) combined for five double-doubles.
 
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.
   
SEMO opens OVC play Sept. 24-25 at Tennessee State in Nashville, Tennessee.
 
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
After the 2021 Redhawks Invitational, SEMO hits the road for its 2021 Ohio Valley Conference opening series at Tennessee State Sept. 24-25 in Nashville, Tennessee. Match times are set for 6 p.m., CT and 2 p.m. in the Friday, Saturday matchup in the Music City.