BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - Senior libero Tara Beilsmith was named the Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday.
 
For Beilsmith, it was her league-leading seventh OVC Defensive Player of the Week award out of 11 weeks this season.
 
Beilsmith led the Redhawks defensively with 56 digs this past week as Southeast Missouri women's volleyball swept its home series with SIUE (Nov. 4-5). 
 
Beilsmith averaged 7.00 digs per set over the two matches. 
 
She opened the weekend series with her third career double-double of 24 digs and 10 assists on Nov. 4.
 
Beilsmith then scooped up 32 digs for her fifth 30-plus dig match of the season, in the series finale on Nov. 5. She also added seven assists and an ace in the match with SIUE. 
 
With 56 digs this past weekend, Beilsmith, a Weldon Spring, Missouri, native, has now registered her third career 600-plus dig season (648) as a Redhawk. 
 
She leads the OVC in digs with 390 (6.29 dig/set) in league matches this season. Nationally, Beilsmith ranks second for digs with 648 (6.00 digs/set) in 2022. 

For Beilsmith, the OVC honor is her 13th career weekly laurel and 12th career Defensive Player of the Week. 
 
The Redhawks will next travel to Morehead, Kentucky, to take on Morehead State, Friday and Saturday in their final 2022 regular-season OVC series. Match times are set for 6 p.m., CT and 2 p.m., CT, respectively in the Friday-Saturday series at Johnson Arena. SEMO and Morehead State are both tied at fourth in the OVC standings with 9-7 records and are both a match behind Eastern Illinois (8-7 OVC for third). 
 
OVC Volleyball Players of the Week - Nov. 7, 2022
Co-Offensive & Newcomer: Johanna Alcantara, Tennessee State
Co-Offensive: Logan Wallick, UT Martin 
Defensive: Tara Beilsmith, Southeast Missouri 
Setter: Abby Vanbuskirk, Lindenwood