Match #20
Southeast Missouri (9-10, 4-3 OVC)
at Southern Indiana (1-17, 1-6 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Friday, Oct. 14, 2022
First Serve: 6 p.m., CT
Location: Evansville, Ind.     
Venue: Screaming Eagles Arena
All-Time Series: SEMO leads USI, 5-1 
Last Meeting: 3-0 SEMO Win | Nov. 1, 1990 | Evansville, Ind. 
Live Stats: SIDEARM Live Stats 
Live Video: ESPN+

Match #21
Southeast Missouri (9-10, 4-3 OVC)
at Southern Indiana (1-17, 1-6 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022
First Serve: 2 p.m., CT
Location: Evansville, Ind.     
Venue: Screaming Eagles Arena
Live Stats: SIDEARM Live Stats
Live Video: ESPN+
 
Match #22
Southeast Missouri (9-10, 4-3 OVC)
at Little Rock (3-17, 0-7 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022
First Serve: 6 p.m., CT
Location: Little Rock, Ark.     
Venue: Jack Stephens Center
All-Time Series: SEMO leads Little Rock, 6-5
Last Meeting: 3-0 SEMO Win | Oct. 10, 2022 | Cape Girardeau, Mo.  
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Live Video: ESPN+

Media Coverage
Twitter: @SEMOvb
Match Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF)
2022 SEMO Statistics (PDF)
 
Redhawks Head to Southern Indiana this Weekend Before Tuesday Match at Little Rock 
Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (9-10, 4-3 OVC) hits the road for a trio of matches this week. The Redhawks take on Ohio Valley Conference newcomer Southern Indiana (3-17, 0-7 OVC) Friday and Saturday at Screaming Eagles Arena in Evansville, Indiana, before wrapping their home-and-home series with travel partner Little Rock (3-17, 0-7 OVC) Tuesday at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. 

Follow the Redhawks
• Stats will be available for Friday, Saturday, and Tuesday's matches on SEMORedhawks.com
• All three 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 Opponents
Southern Indiana
The Screaming Eagles are 1-17 (1-6 OVC) in 2022 and most recently fell in their series at UT Martin (1-3 and 0-3) Oct. 7-8. 
 
Leah Anderson put up season-high numbers last weekend, tallying a double-double of 16 digs, 13 kills and three aces on Oct. 7. She also added 10 kills in the finale with UTM on Oct. 8. Carly Sobieralski accumulated a team-high 54 assists in just seven sets this past week. To go along with her success offensively, she totaled a team-high 15 digs in the opener on Oct. 7.
 
Little Rock
The Trojans dropped their road series at SIUE Oct. 7-8 with a 1-3 and 2-3 loss. 
 
Daedrianna Cail was the only player in the OVC last week to hit above .350, record 10 or more blocks and serve up 3 or more aces. She finished the week leading the Trojans in kills (21), hitting percentage (.378), service aces (5) and total blocks (16). Over the past week, her .378 hitting percentage ranked sixth in the OVC, her five aces ranked fourth, her 16 total blocks ranked second all accumulating a full-rotation, well-round performance unmatched across the board. Cail hit a team-leading .378 against SIUE, with an astounding 1.78 blocks per set (16 in total, two solo) over nine sets in Edwardsville, Illinois. Recorded career-highs in kills (13), hitting percentage (.571) and aces (3) in Oct. 8's five-set thriller after posting a career-best nine total blocks Oct. 7 (1 solo). With the weekend's performance, she's now fifth in the OVC in blocks per set (1.01) while her .288 season hitting percentage ranks her sixth in the league
 
Gabrielle Spankus averaged 8.44 assists per set over two matches last week, ranking third in the OVC as she also added 18 digs, averaging 2.00 per set. The true freshman served up an ace and tallied 7.0 total blocks as she entered her second weekend in the 5-1 offense.
 
LR also most recently fell to SEMO in the home-and-homer series opener between the travel partners on Oct. 10. Laure Jansen paced LR with 12 kills and 15 digs. Spankus totaled 33 assists and 10 digs. 
 
Little Rock hosts Morehead State this weekend before welcoming SEMO to The Natural State on Tuesday, Oct. 18. 

Series History
Southern Indiana
SEMO leads the all-time series with Southern Indiana, 5-1. It will mark the first meeting between the two schools as members of the Ohio Valley Conference and at the NCAA Division I level.
 
The two teams last faced on Nov. 1, 1990, a 3-0 Southeast Missouri win, before the Redhawks NCAA Division I era.  

Little Rock
SEMO leads the all-time series with Little Rock, 6-5. The two schools faced off for the first time as OVC members on Oct. 10, with the Redhawks prevailing 3-0 at Houck Field House in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. 
 
Kayla Closset registered a double-double of 12 kills and 10 digs on a .500 hitting percentage while Zoey Beasley added 11 rally stoppers with six digs on a .333 clip as SEMO swept Little Rock, 25-17, 25-23, 25-18, at Houck Field House.
 
Izzy Lukens totaled 18 assists and seven digs with two kills and an ace. Kaelyn O'Brien chipped in 16 assists, eight kills and five digs. The Redhawks finished with a hitting percentage of .269.
 
Beilsmith, the reigning back-to-back OVC Defensive Player of the Week, registered 25 digs with seven assists and four aces Oct. 10. She has now registered 25 or more digs, in each of SEMO's last six matches.
 
SEMO and Little Rock are OVC travel partners and will compete in a home-and-home series that began with a Monday matchup on Oct. 10 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. SEMO and Little Rock will wrap the regular-season series Tuesday, Oct. 18 in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Redhawks From Arkansas
Sisters Zoey Beasley and Taylor Beasley will return to their home state of Arkansas when the Redhawks take on OVC newcomer Little Rock Tuesday at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. Tuesday will mark the first time both Zoey and Taylor have played a collegiate volleyball match in their home state. The Paragould, Arkansas, natives, played volleyball and basketball at Paragould High School. 
 
Zoey Beasley, a senior outside hitter, leads the Redhawks in 2022 with 218 kills (3.11 kills/set) and has started in 18 of 19 matches. She most recently had nine or more kills in each of the Redhawks matches last week with Eastern Illinois (Oct. 7-8) and against Little Rock (Oct. 10, 11 kills). Taylor Beasley, a junior outside hitter, has played in four sets over three matches this season. She tallied four aces with two digs, a kill, and an assist against Alabama A&M on Sept. 17. 
 
Beilsmith Named OVC Defensive Player of the Week
Senior libero Tara Beilsmith was named the Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the second-straight week, the league announced Monday. For Beilsmith, it is her league-leading fifth OVC Defensive Player of the Week award out of seven weeks this season.
 
Beilsmith paced SEMO defensively with 56 total digs (9.33 digs/set) and five assists (0.83 assists/set) this past weekend in its home series with OVC leader Eastern Illinois Oct. 7-8. 
 
Beilsmith averaged a whopping 9.33 digs per set over SEMO's two matches with Eastern Illinois. 
 
She grabbed a match-best 28 digs in each of the two matches with the Panthers.
 
She ranks first in the OVC and second in the NCAA with 6.26 digs per set (438 total digs) in 2022. In league competition, Beilsmith is averaging 7.5 digs per set (180 digs), which also paces the conference.
 
For Beilsmith, a Weldon Spring, Missouri, native, the OVC honor is her 11th career weekly laurel and 10th career Defensive Player of the Week. 
 
Eastern Illinois Recap
SEMO fell to OVC leader Eastern Illinois in its home series at Houck Field House Oct. 7-8. 
 
Kayla Closset led the Redhawks offense with 23 kills (3.83 kills/set) and 13 digs (2.17 digs/set) for 27.0 points (4.50 points/set). Closset opened the series with 10 kills, six digs, and a pair of aces on Oct. 7 before wrapping the weekend with 13 kills and seven digs on a .265 hitting clip in the finale on Oct. 8. 
 
Closset has registered double-digit kills in each of the last four Redhawk matches including against Little Rock on Monday (Oct. 10). 
 
Zoey Beasley chipped in 18 kills (3.00 kill/set). She had nine kills in each of the two matches with EIU. 
 
Kaelyn O'Brien registered 30 assists, 12 digs, and 12 kills. The VCU transfer led the SEMO offense with a career-best 12 kills, 16 assists, and eight digs on a .409 hitting percentage in the series opener on Oct. 7. The double-double marked the seventh of the season for O'Brien, a redshirt junior from Woodbridge, Virginia. She then wrapped the series with 14 assists and four digs on Oct. 8.
 
O'Brien has posted 14 or more assists in each of the last seven SEMO matches including against Little Rock on Monday (Oct. 10).
 
Izzy Lukens finished the week with 29 assists (4.83 assists/set), 11 digs, and four kills. She opened the series with 17 assists and eight digs before posting 12 assists and three digs in the finale. 

Where We Rank
The Redhawks lead the league for digs (16.79, 1,175 total digs) and attacks per set (37.60 attacks/set, 2,632 total attacks, second). 
 
SEMO is also second for blocks (2.31 blocks/set, 161.5, third) and opposing hitting percentage (.185) and third for aces (1.40 aces/set, 98 total aces, fourth).

Mackenzie Meehan is third in the league with 1.23 blocks/set (51st in the NCAA, 64 total blocks, sixth in OVC).
 
Zoey Beasley ranks second in the OVC with 218 total kills (3.11 kills/set, fifth) and 637 total attacks while Colby Greene is averaging 2.44 kills per set (15th).
 
Non-Conference Recap 
SEMO fashioned a 5-7 mark during the non-conference portion of its schedule. The Redhawks won a pair of matches (2-1) at their home SEMO Invitational to open the campaign before going 1-2 the next three weeks to wrap non-conference tournament play.
 
Tara Beilsmith was named OVC Defensive Player of the Week three-straight weeks to open the season and earned all-tournament honors twice. Colby Greene and Zoey Beasley also were selected to all-tournament teams. 
 
Beilsmith paces the defense with 258 digs (5.61 digs/set) to go with 59 assists (1.28 assists/set).
 
Greene leads the offense with 134 kills (2.98 kills/set) and 150 total points (3.33 points per set). Beasley has chipped in 130 kills (2.83 kills/set) with 145.5 points (3.16 points per set).
 
Izzy Lukens leads the setter corps with 249 assists (5.41 assists/set) followed by Kaelyn O'Brien (117 assists, 3.77 assists/set) and Jenny Shook (44 assists, 2.93 assists/set).
 
Redhawk Debuts
Newcomers Rachel Eddy, Jenny Shook, Ramiri Gardner, Kaelyn O'Brien along with redshirt freshman Avery Torrey all made their SEMO debuts at the SEMO Invitational (Aug. 26-27). 
 
Taylor Beasley and Kalia Morris both made their Redhawk debuts at the Redbird Classic (Sept. 2-3). Taylor Beasley finished with two digs against Illinois State (Sept. 3). Morris added eight digs and two assists over the three matches. 
 
Eddy posted a service ace against Jackson State (Aug. 27).
 
Shook, a freshman setter from Plainfield, Illinois, compiled 16 assists and eight digs to go with an ace against Jackson State (Aug. 27). Gardner posted a kill against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Aug. 26).
 
Lexie Smith made her first three career starts, finishing with 20 kills (1.67 kills/set) and 10 blocks (0.83 blocks/set). She notched nine kills in the season opener with Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Aug. 26) before adding eight against North Dakota State (Aug. 26). She totaled five kills in each of the final two SEMO matches. 
 
O'Brien, a redshirt junior transfer setter from Virginia Commonwealth (VCU), registered 35 assists (4.38 assists/set) and 12 digs (0.13 digs/set) over two matches. In her SEMO debut, O'Brien posted 12 assists and six digs with four kills against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Aug. 26). O'Brien then added a career best 23 assists with six digs in the night cap against North Dakota State (Aug. 26).
 
Torrey compiled 14 kills over the weekend including five kills and six blocks versus NDSU (Aug. 26) and six kills against Jackson State (Aug. 27). She made her first two career starts against APB (Aug. 26) and NDSU (Aug. 26).
 
Oh Captains, My Captains
Head coach Julie Yankus announced Aug. 24, Zoey Beasley, Tara Beilsmith, Talia Gouard, and Colby Greene were selected as team captains for the 2022 season. For Beilsmith, the 2022 campaign marks her second straight as captain while this year is the first for Beasley, Gouard, and Greene in the leadership role. The group of four was voted captains for the season by their teammates. 
 
2022 OVC Preseason Poll
Three Redhawks were featured on the 2022 Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference Team and for the second straight-year SEMO was selected to finish second in the preseason poll, the league announced Aug. 17. Outside hitter Zoey Beasley, libero Tara Beilsmith, and rightside hitter Colby Greene were all selected to the 2022 Preseason All-OVC Team.
 
SEMO received seven first-place votes and 145 total points for second in the predicted order of finish selected by the OVC's Head Coaches and Sports Information Directors. Morehead State, the 2021 OVC Regular-Season Champions and Tournament runners-up, was picked to win the conference receiving nine first-place votes and 153 total points. 
 
SEMO tied Morehead State and UT Martin for the league-lead in players on the preseason OVC team with three. 
 
Beasley, a senior outside hitter from Paragould, Arkansas, was named to her first career OVC preseason team Wednesday. She was third in the league offensively with 3.88 kills per set (248 kills) and fourth with 4.20 points per set (269.0 points) en route to 2021 All-OVC First Team honors. Beasley also accumulated 39 digs (0.61 digs/set) and 34 blocks (0.53 blocks/set) in league action. She was awarded OVC Offensive Player of the Week three times in 2021 and was second on the Redhawks with 436 kills (3.43 kill/set) and 475.5 points (3.74 points/set). She was also fourth on the team with 62 total blocks (0.49 blocks/set). Beasley registered double-digit kills in 25 matches and had 20 or more kills four times. She posted a career high 25 kills on a .286 hitting percentage with four digs and four blocks in SEMO's five set victory over Austin Peay on Oct. 28.
 
Beilsmith, a senior libero from Weldon Spring, Missouri, was selected to her second career OVC preseason Team Wednesday after being featured on the 2020-21 list. She ranked third in the league last season with 323 digs (5.05 digs/set) to go with 71 assists and 12 aces in 2021 OVC competitions for her second career All-OVC Second Team laurels. Beilsmith led SEMO with a career best 660 digs (5.20 digs/set) which broke her own Southeast Missouri single-season record (25-point rally scoring era from 2008 to present). She was also second on the Redhawks in 2021 with 28 service aces (0.22 service aces/set) and 126 assists (0.99 assist/set). Beilsmith compiled double-digit dig outings in all but two matches in 2021 and registered 30 plus digs twice and 20 or more digs 17 times. She posted double-digit digs in 25 consecutive matches and grabbed a career high 39 digs with five assists in SEMO's non-conference victory over Memphis of the American Athletic Conference on Sept. 10. She was awarded OVC Defensive Player of the Week four times in 2021.
 
Greene, a rightside hitter graduate student from North Liberty, Iowa, rounds out the Redhawks on the 2022 Preseason All-OVC team, earning the distinction for the second-straight year. She totaled 158 kills (2.47 kills/set) on a .226 clip in conference play a year ago and was awarded 2021 All-OVC Tournament Team honors. Greene also had 30 blocks (0.47 blocks/set) and 22 digs (0.34 digs/set) in league competitions. Overall, she was third on the Redhawks with 326 kills (2.57 kills/set) and 363.0 points on a .234 hitting percentage in 2021. Greene also totaled 68 blocks (62 assists, six solo, 0.54 blocks/set, second on the team) and 53 digs (0.42 digs/set). She finished with double-digit kills 15 times in 2021 and registered a career best 23 kills on a .283 clip with three digs and a block for 23.5 points against UT Martin on Sept. 29.

SEMO Schedule
SEMO, the 2021 OVC Regular-Season and Tournament Champions, will play 30 regular-season matches in 2022. SEMO will compete in four non-conference tournaments before a full 18-match OVC slate. 
 
The Redhawks will host 12 home contests this season at Houck Field House and kicked off the 2022 campaign with the SEMO Invitational Aug. 26-27.
 
SEMO opens the league calendar with a home series against Tennessee State on Sept. 23-24 with matches set for 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. 
 
The 2022 OVC Championship Tournament will be contested Nov. 17-19 at the regular-season champion.
 
2021 OVC Regular-Season and Tournament Champions 
SEMO, the 2021 OVC Regular-Season and Tournament Champions, fashioned a 26-8 overall mark this past fall including a 14-4 record during league matches. The Redhawks 26 wins in 2021 are the highest win total since the 1999 season when Southeast Missouri notched a 28-6 overall mark.
 
The Redhawks won their second OVC Tournament Championship in three seasons and seventh in program history in 2021. SEMO also won both the regular-season title and the tournament title in the same season for the first time since 2000.
 
SEMO concluded its season with an NCAA Tournament Appearance at #7 Kentucky.
 
SEMO returns a trio of All-OVC starters in senior libero Tara Beilsmith (2019 and 2021 All-OVC Second Team), senior outside hitter Zoey Beasley (2021 All-OVC First Team) and graduate student rightside hitter Colby Greene (2021 All-OVC Tournament Team).
 
Head coach Julie Yankus, the 2021 OVC Coach of the Year, will lead the Redhawks in her 12th season at SEMO in 2022. 
  
Team Makeup
SEMO's 2022 roster consists of 16 student-athletes including 10 returners from the 2021 Championship team.
 
Other top returners besides SEMO's three All-OVC starters include senior and starting middle blocker Talia Gouard, junior setter Izzy Lukens, junior outside hitters Kayla Closset and Addy McAleer, junior middle blocker Lexie Smith, and redshirt junior middle blocker Mackenzie Meehan. 
 
The 2022 team features six newcomers in a trio of transfers coupled with three freshmen. 
 
Rachel Eddy (junior defensive specialist/libero) and Taylor Beasley (junior outside hitter) joined the program during the Spring 2022 semester after transferring from Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) and Murray State, respectively. Redshirt junior setter Kaelyn O'Brien signed with SEMO from VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University) in April. 
 
Freshmen Jenny Shook (setter), Ramiri Gardner (middle blocker/rightside hitter), and Kalia Morris (defensive specialist/libero) along with redshirt freshman rightside hitter Avery Torrey round out the 2022 team.
 
SEMO's 2022 roster also includes four, three-time OVC Champions (2019 Tournament, 2021 Regular Season and Tournament Champions) in Colby Greene, Talia Gouard, Tara Beilsmith, and Zoey Beasley.
 
Academic Excellence
SEMO was awarded the United States Marine Corps (USMC)/American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the 2021-2022 season. The Redhawks earned the honor for the 15th consecutive season and 22nd time in program history. 
 
Colby Greene, Megan Harris, and Avery Torrey all were awarded OVC Academic Medals of Honor for the 2021-22 academic year after they all registered a perfect 4.0 GPA. 
 
Kayla Closset, Caroline Draver, Talia Gouard, Colby Greene, Megan Harris, Addy McAleer, Elissa Moylan, Lexie Smith, and Avery Torrey were named to the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll for the 2021-22 academic year, achieving at least a 3.25 GPA.
 
Looking Ahead
Following this week's three-match road swing, SEMO will return to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to host Tennessee Tech Oct. 21-22 at Houck Field House. Match times are 6 p.m., CT and 2 p.m. in the Friday-Saturday series. Oct. 22 is Alumni Day. There will be an Alumni social gathering following the match ahead of SEMO's Annual Trivia Night and Charity Auction.