Match #17
Southeast Missouri (8-8, 3-1 OVC)
vs. Eastern Illinois (10-8, 4-1 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Friday, Oct. 7, 2022
First Serve: 6 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.    
Venue: Houck Field House
All-Time Series: SEMO leads EIU, 42-21-1 (3-0 in 2021)
Last Meetings: 3-0 SEMO Win | Nov. 18, 2021 | Cape Girardeau, Mo. | 2021 OVC Championship Tournament First Round 
3-0 SEMO Wins | Oct. 8-9, 2021 | Lantz Arena | Charleston, Illinois
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Live Video: ESPN+
Tickets 

Match #18
Southeast Missouri (8-8, 3-1 OVC)
vs. Eastern Illinois (10-8, 4-1 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022
First Serve: 7 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.    
Venue: Houck Field House
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Live Video: ESPN+
Tickets
 
Match #19
Southeast Missouri (8-8, 3-1 OVC)
vs. Little Rock (3-14, 0-4 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Monday, Oct. 10, 2022
First Serve: 6 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.    
Venue: Houck Field House
All-Time Series: SEMO and Little Rock are tied at 5-5
Last Meetings: 3-2 SEMO Win | Aug. 30, 2013 | Starkville, Miss. | Mississippi State's Maroon Classic 
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Live Video: ESPN+
Tickets

Media Coverage
Twitter: @SEMOvb
Match Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF) | Eastern Illinois | Little Rock
2022 SEMO Statistics (PDF)
 
Redhawks Host Eastern Illinois and Little Rock in Three-Match Homestand Starting Friday
Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (8-8, 3-1 OVC) opens a three-match homestand Friday with a weekend series against Eastern Illinois (10-8, 4-1 OVC) before the home-and-home series opener with travel partner and OVC newcomer Little Rock (3-14, 0-4 OVC) on Monday.
 
Saturday, fans receive free admission with a SEMO Football ticket.

Follow the Redhawks
• Stats will be available for Friday, Saturday, and Monday'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
Eastern Illinois
The Panthers most recently swept both of their matches against Little Rock on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 in Charleston, Illinois. EIU is currently tied for first in the OVC with UTM heading into the third week of the conference slate with a 4-1 mark (10-8 overall). The Panthers opened last week with a 3-1 win over Southern Indiana on Sept. 27 in Evansville, Indiana. 
 
Kaitlyn Flynn and Catalina Rochaix were selected as two of the OVC Players of the Week after their performances against Southern Indiana and Little Rock last week. 
 
Flynn totaled 59 kills (5.90 kills/set) on a .396 rate over three matches for OVC Offensive Player of the Week. Flynn registered 27 kills on a .353 clip at USI (9/27). In the weekend series against Little Rock, Flynn led the team in both matches with 18 and 14 kills. She has six-straight matches with at least 12 kills and has nine total matches with double-digit kills in 2022. Defensively, Flynn also had eight blocks including three solo and had two services aces. In the OVC, Flynn ranks first in the conference in kills per set with an average of 4.30. She is also third in total kills with 185 and ninth in hitting percentage with a .265.

Rochaix earned OVC Setter of the week after she compiled a total of 78 assists (7.80 assists/set) this week in the Panthers' 6-2 system. Against USI, Rochaix posted 29 assists, which is her third most in a match this season. At home over the weekend, Rochaix was able to collect 27 and 22 assists against Little Rock. She is currently sixth in the OVC with 371 total assists and ninth with 5.80 assists per set.
 
The 2022 season marks the third for Sara Thomas at the helm of the program. Thomas is the older sister of former Redhawks assistant coach, Carly Thomas (2018). The sisters were standout volleyball players at Missouri State. 
 
Little Rock
The Trojans are 3-14 overall in 2022 with a 0-4 mark in OVC play, their first season as a member of the conference. Little Rock most recently was swept in its series at Eastern Illinois on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 in Charleston, Illinois.
 
Gabrielle Spankus took hold of the new 5-1 offense and averaged 8.90 assists per set this past week. Being thrust into the new role within a new system as a true freshman, Spankus dealt out 89 assists, registered 23 digs and was credited with seven blocks.
 
Zanobia Willis matched a career-high 10 total blocks Sept. 27 against Central Arkansas as she accumulated an impressive 18 total blocks over the course of the week. Willis led a blocking effort that witnessed the Trojans record 18 total team blocks against the Sugar Bears on Sept. 27 as Willis led the way with two solo stops and eight assisted blocks. She continued that fierce play at the net with a trip to Eastern Illinois, ending the week with 18 total blocks herself. Willis has led a team effort that has the Trojans second in the OVC in blocking (2.22 blocks per set) while Willis herself is second in the league in blocking (1.24 bps).
 
The Trojans will face SIUE in Edwardsville, Illinois, Friday, and Saturday before heading to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, for Monday's midweek with SEMO. 
 
Van Compton is in her 35th season as head coach of Little Rock. 

Series History
Eastern Illinois
SEMO leads the all-time series with EIU, 42-21-1, and won all three meetings in 2021.
 
In the most recent meeting, top-seeded SEMO swept #8 Eastern Illinois, 25-13, 25-15, 25-18, in the opening round of the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference Championship Tournament on Nov. 18. Colby Greene led the Redhawks with 14 kills on a stellar .591 hitting percentage. Laney Malloy, the 2021 OVC Player of the Year, added a double-double of 10 kills with 10 digs and an ace. Zoey Beasley added eight kills. Claire Ochs, the 2021 OVC Setter of the Year, handed out 32 assists with seven digs, three kills and two blocks as SEMO finished with a rate of .340. Tara Beilsmith notched nine digs and four assists.
 
Ochs led the Redhawks with 59 assists (9.83 assists/set) in the regular-season sweep, Oct. 8-9, in Charleston, Illinois. The Redhawks finished with a hitting clip of .229 over the two matches. Ochs opened the series with 30 assists in the Friday matchup as SEMO hit at a rate of .274. She finished the weekend with 29 assists and 10 digs in the series finale. Offensively, Ochs totaled eight kills on a .412 clip with just one error over the weekend. She also totaled 15 digs to complete the weekend in Charleston, Illinois.
 
Beilsmith led the SEMO defense with 27 digs. Beilsmith accumulated 14 and 13 digs, respectively in the two road matches. She also totaled five assists over the two matches including three in the finale. Colby Greene posted 19 kills (.302) and Laney Malloy finished with 17 over the two matches.
 
Zoey Beasley was named the Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week, after she led the SEMO offense with 25 kills (4.17 kills/set) on a .404 hitting percentage as SEMO swept its series at Eastern Illinois. The Paragould, Arkansas, outside hitter, opened the EIU series with 11 kills on a .478 hitting clip in the Friday match (Oct. 8). She then added 14 kills at a rate of .345 in the series finale Saturday (Oct. 9). Beasley also finished the weekend with four digs and three blocks, scoring 27.0 points (4.5 points/set) for the Redhawks.
 
SEMO has won the last 10 meetings between the two schools dating back to Nov. 11, 2017.

Little Rock
SEMO and Little Rock are tied in the all-time series at 5-5. The two teams will meet for the first time as conference opponents on Monday and the meeting will mark the first match of the home-and-home series between the travel partners in 2022. 
 
The two institutions last met on Aug. 30, 2013, a 3-2 SEMO win at Mississippi State's Maroon Classic in Starkville, Mississippi. Emily Coon recorded 20 kills in the match, with eight blocks (three solo, five assisted). Colleen Yaber contributed to the win with 16 kills and Julie Shives had 44 assists in the five-set contest.
 
Beilsmith Named OVC Defensive Player of the Week
Senior libero Tara Beilsmith was tabbed the Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday. The honor was her league-leading fourth OVC Defensive Player of the Week award in six weeks. 
 
Beilsmith led SEMO defensively with 56 total digs and nine assists as the Redhawks split their first OVC road series of the 2022 season at UT Martin Sept. 30-Oct. 1. She averaged 8.00 digs and 1.29 assists per set in Martin, Tennessee, this past weekend. Beilsmith grabbed 31 digs with five assists and an ace in the opener with UTM on Sept. 30. It marked her second-straight 30 dig match and fourth of the season. She then wrapped the weekend road series with 25 digs, four assists, and an ace as the Redhawks swept UTM in the series finale on Oct. 1.
 
She has posted 25 or more digs in each of the last three matches for SEMO. 
 
Beilsmith ranks first in the OVC and third overall in the nation with 5.85 digs per set in 2022. She is also second in the conference and fifth in the NCAA with 357 total digs. 
 
For Beilsmith, a Weldon Spring, Missouri, native, the OVC honor is her 10th career weekly laurel and ninth career Defensive Player of the Week. 
 
First OVC Road Series
The Redhawks split their first OVC road series of the 2022 season at UT Martin (Sept. 30-Oct. 1) this past weekend. 
 
Zoey Beasley led the Redhawks offensively with 28 kills (4.00 kills/set) and 29.5 points (4.21 points/set) on a .280 clip. Beasley opened the series with 15 kills and seven digs with a block in the opener on Sept. 30. She then tallied 13 kills while hitting .375 as the Redhawks swept UTM in the series finale on Oct. 1. Beasley also totaled nine digs (1.29 digs/set), two blocks, and two assists over the two matches. She has registered double-digit kills in each of the last three matches. 
 
Ramiri Gardner registered 14 kills (2.00 kills/set) on a .316 hitting clip with 10 blocks (1.43 blocks per set). Gardner opened the week with a career-best matching eight kills on a .348 rate with five blocks and an ace. She then wrapped the weekend road series with six kills on a .267 with three digs and five blocks as the Redhawks swept UTM in the series finale on Oct. 1. Gardner, a freshman from St. Peters, Missouri, has started each of the last 10 matches for SEMO and posted six or more kills in each of the last five matches. 
 
Kayla Closset added 20 kills (2.86 kills/set) with 17 digs (2.43 digs/set) over the two matches including 12 kills in the UTM series finale. She has started in each of the last six SEMO matches. 
 
Setters Izzy Lukens dished out 44 assists (6.29 assists/set) with 12 digs and Kaelyn O'Brien compiled 29 assists (4.14 assists/set) with 21 digs. Lukens has registered 20 or more assists in each of the last three matches. O'Brien compiled a double-double in each match against UTM and has handed out 12 or more assists in each of the last five matches. 

Where We Rank
SEMO ranks first in the OVC for blocks (140.5, 2.30 blocks/set), digs per set (16.46, 1,004 total digs, third), opposing hitting percentage (.178), and team total attacks (37.15 attacks/set, 2,266 total attacks, fourth). 
 
The Redhawks are also second for aces (1.41 aces/set, 86 total, fourth).
 
Mackenzie Meehan is first in the league with 1.28 blocks/set (39th in the NCAA, 55 total blocks, fifth in OVC).
 
Zoey Beasley ranks third in the OVC with 3.10 kills per set and third for total attacks (541) while Colby Greene is averaging 2.63 kills per set (12th).
 
Izzy Lukens is fifth in the league with 21 service aces.
 
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 SEMO's three matches in a four-day stretch, the Redhawks continue their league slate at OVC newcomer Southern Indiana with a Friday-Saturday series set for Oct. 14-15 in Evansville, Indiana.