OVC Opening Weekend
 
Match #13 | OVC #1
Southeast Missouri (9-3, 0-0 OVC)
at Tennessee State (8-2, 0-1 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Friday, Sept. 24, 2021
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Venue: Kean Hall
First Serve: 6 p.m., CT
All-Time Series: SEMO leads the all-time series, 43-8
Last Meeting: 3-0 SEMO Win | Oct. 25, 2019 | Nashville, Tenn.
Live Stats: StatsBroadcast
Live Video: ESPN+
 
Match #14 | OVC #2
Southeast Missouri (9-3, 0-0 OVC)
at Tennessee State (8-2, 0-1 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Venue: Kean Hall
First Serve: 2 p.m., CT
Live Stats: StatsBroadcast
Live Video: ESPN+
 
Media Coverage
Twitter: @SEMOvb
Media Guide: Southeast Missouri
Match Notes: Southeast Missouri
 
Redhawks Head to the Music City this Weekend for Opening OVC Series with Tennessee State
Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (9-3, 0-0 OVC) will head to Nashville, Tennessee, Friday and Saturday for its 2021 Ohio Valley Conference opening series against Tennessee State (8-2, 0-1 OVC). Match times are set for 6 p.m., CT and 2 p.m. in the weekend matchup held at Kean Hall in the Music City.
 
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.
 
Scouting the Tigers
Tennessee State is 8-2 in 2021 after dropping its OVC opener to Belmont, 24-26, 26-24, 28-30, 20-25, on Tuesday at the Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
 
Aniya Williams paces TSU offensively with 129 kills (3.69 kills/set). Sofia Garcia-Guerrios has dished out 360 assists (10.29 assist/set). Gina Rivera-Ortiz was named the OVC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday and leads the Tigers with 227 digs (6.49 digs/set).
 
TSU was pegged to finish 2021 ninth in the league.

Familiar Face at TSU
Former Redhawk Kendall Washington transferred to Tennessee State this past summer. Washington totaled 46 kills with 11 digs in three seasons at SEMO.
 
At TSU, Washington, an outside hitter from Atlanta, Georgia, has registered 62 kills (3.10 kills/set) in eight matches.
 
Series History
SEMO leads the all-time series with Tennessee State, 43-8. The Redhawks won the most recent matchup, 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-18), Oct. 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee.
 
Laney Malloy led the offense with a double-double performance of 15 kills and 11 digs on a .333 hitting percentage. Annie Wehrheim added eight kills while Maggie Adams and Mikayla Kuhlmann each notched six. Claire Ochs dished out 29 assists and had nine digs. Tara Beilsmith led the defense with 15 digs and a service ace.
 
SEMO had a six-match win streak over TSU from 2012 to 2017 before the Tigers won the 2018 (Oct. 20) matchup, 3-0, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
 
Malloy Named the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week
Senior outside hitter Laney Malloy was named the Sports Imports/American Volleyball Coaches Association Women's Division I National Player of the Week, the AVCA announced Tuesday.
 
Malloy is the second player ever from Southeast Missouri to earn Sports Imports/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week. Setter Jamie Baumstark earned the first-ever honor in program history on Nov. 7, 2005 and played at SEMO from 2003-2006.
 
Malloy and Ochs Named OVC Players of the Week
Seniors Claire Ochs and Laney Malloy were named Ohio Valley Conference Players of the Week, the league announced Monday. Ochs was tabbed Setter of the Week while Malloy earned Offensive Player of the Week.
 
Ochs led the Redhawks with 112 assists (11.20 assists/set) as SEMO hit at a pace of .334 to sweep its home tournament to conclude non-conference play. The Chesterfield, Missouri native, dished out 53 assists and 11 digs against Tulsa (9/17) to open the tournament. She also notched 29 assists against SIU (9/17) and 30 assists in the tournament finale with Central Arkansas (9/18). SEMO hit over .300 in all three matches, finishing with .359 against UCA after going .307 in the match with Tulsa and .355 in the rivalry contest against Southern Illinois. Ochs also compiled 16 digs, seven kills, five blocks and two aces over the weekend.

The honor is the fourth career OVC weekly honor and third career OVC Setter of the Week award for Ochs. She was previously recognized this season by the conference on Aug. 30.
 
Malloy led the Redhawks offense this past weekend with 45 kills (4.50 kills/set) on a .441 hitting clip and 20 digs to earn 2021 Redhawks Invitational MVP. Malloy opened the tournament with 23 kills and 10 digs against Tulsa on Sept. 17. The Roselle, Illinois, outside hitter, concluded the Invitational with 11 kills and five digs against both Southern Illinois (9/17) and Central Arkansas (9/18). She hit over .357 in all three matches including a stellar .526 in the sweep of regional rival SIU. Malloy also finished the week with six aces and four assists, totaling 51.0 points.
 
The honor marks the third career weekly honor for Malloy who last earned a weekly award from the league on March 17, 2021 during the 2020-21 season.
 
Redhawks Invitational Recap
SEMO (9-3) secured the 2021 Redhawks Invitational Championship with three victories over Tulsa (3-1), Southern Illinois (3-0) and Central Arkansas (3-0) Sept. 17-18 at Houck Field House to conclude the Redhawks non-conference slate.
 
Laney Malloy was named the 2021 Redhawks Invitational MVP while Colby Greene and Zoey Beasley joined her on the all-tournament team. For Malloy, it was her eighth career all-tournament team and second MVP honor. Greene and Beasley were both selected to their first career all-tournament teams.
 
Greene and Beasley finished with 26 (.274) and 27 (.305) total kills, respectively, at the tournament.
 
Claire Ochs completed the Invitational with 112 assists and 16 digs as SEMO notched a .334 hitting percentage. Tara Beilsmith accumulated 48 digs (4.80 digs/set) including 15 Saturday.
 
Aces High!!
SEMO concluded non-conference play with consecutive season-highs of 12 aces against Southern Illinois (Sept. 17) and Central Arkansas (Sept. 18). The Redhawks finished the weekend with 30. Tara Beilsmith notched a career-best matching five against SIU and Laney Malloy recorded four versus UCA. Beilsmith, Malloy and Ally Dion each had six aces at the Redhawks Invitational.
 
SEMO is second in the conference (40th in the NCAA) with 76 aces in 2021 and fourth for aces per set (1.58).
 
Hitting for the Fences
SEMO hit over .300 in all three matches this past weekend at the Redhawks Invitational, finishing with a season-best .359 against UCA (Sept. 18) after going .307 in the match with Tulsa (Sept. 17) and .355 in the rivalry contest against Southern Illinois (Sept. 17).
 
The Redhawks are third in the OVC with a hitting clip of .213.
 
Non-Conference Recap
SEMO notched a 9-3 non-conference record with a pair of tournament titles at the 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.
  
Our Libero, Tara Beilsmith, Ladies and Gentlemen
Tara Beilsmith is second in the nation with 272 total digs (first in the OVC) in 2021. She is also third in the OVC with 5.67 digs per set (fifth in the NCAA).

Ochs Leads the OVC for Assists
Claire Ochs paces the league with 492 assists this season (seventh in the NCAA), averaging 10.25 assists/set (third in the OVC). She also ranks eighth in the OVC with 137 digs.
  
Ochs paces the Redhawks with Laney Malloy, with seven double-doubles in 2021.
 
Malloy Ranks Top-3 in the OVC
Laney Malloy leads the league in 2021 with 562 total attacks and 19 service aces. She is second in the OVC for points (219.5) and kills (192). Malloy is also third for attacks per set (11.71), kills per set (4.00) and fourth in the league for aces per set (0.40) and points per set (4.57). Malloy is ninth in the conference with 128 digs.

Malloy has posted double-digit kills in all 12 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).
 
The Beas Knees
Junior outside hitter Zoey Beasley is second on the Redhawks with 136 kills (2.83 kills/set) in 2021. She most recently opened the Redhawks Invitational with 14 kills on a .300 rate against Tulsa (9/17) and was named to the all-tournament team.
 
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. 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 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 fifth in the OVC for total kills and sixth with 382 total attacks.
 
Our Favorite Color Besides Red is Greene
Redshirt-junior rightside hitter Colby Greene is third on SEMO offensively with 124 kills (2.58 kills/set). Greene most recently posted 11 kills against Tulsa (Sept. 17) and 10 kills versus Central Arkansas (Sept. 18) to conclude SEMO's non-conference slate. She was named to her first career all-tournament team.
 
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).
 
The Blocking Duo of TG and Liss-Ness
Talia Gouard (41.0 total blocks) and Elissa Moylan (35.0 total blocks) pace the Redhawks in 2021 at the net as SEMO leads the league with 101.0 total blocks (2.10 blocks/set, fourth in the OVC). Gouard ranks fourth in the league for total blocks.
 
Colby Greene has chipped in 33.0 total blocks while Zoey Beasley has 19.0 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 982 career digs and just recently overcame 1,000 career kills (1070) at Western Michigan's Discover Kalamazoo Classic (Sept. 3-4).
 
Malloy has registered 994 career digs (12 at UIC) and is six 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 Sept. 10-11 at the 2021 SEMO Invitational. Ochs tallied 48 and has 1,020 in her career to complement 3,411 career assists.
 
Beilsmith concluded the weekend with 90 digs and has 1,076 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 (579), team digs (856), team kills (621), team total attacks (1,796) and team total blocks (101.0). The Redhawks are sixth in the nation with team digs and are 20th for total attacks.
 
SEMO is also second in the conference for opposing hitting percentage (.152), and service aces (76). The Redhawks rank third for assists per set (12.06), digs per set (17.83), hitting percentage (.213) and kills per set (12.94).
 
Debut of the Mack
Mackenzie Meehan, a transfer from Radford, made her Redhawks debut at the 2021 SEMO Invitational Sept. 10-11. 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.
 
She most recently had two kills and three total blocks against Central Arkansas (Sept. 18).
  
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.
  
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 Friday and Saturday 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
SEMO next returns home for a three-match week. The Redhawks host UT Martin in their first home OVC match of the season Sept. 29 at 6 p.m., CT at Houck Field House. SEMO then concludes the week with a Friday, Saturday series against Belmont Oct. 1-2. Match times for the weekend series are 6 p.m. and 2 p.m.