Illinois State Redbird Classic
Match #4 
Southeast Missouri (2-1)
vs. Green Bay (1-2)
Match Information
Date: Friday, Sept. 2
First Serve: 12:30 p.m., CT
Location: Normal, Ill. 
Venue: Redbird Arena    
All-Time Series: SEMO and Green Bay are tied at 1-1 
Last Meeting: Sept. 5, 2003 | 3-0 Green Bay Win
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
Match #5
Southeast Missouri (2-1)
vs. Oral Roberts (2-1)
Match Information
Date: Friday, Sept. 2
First Serve: 5 p.m., CT  
Location: Normal, Ill. 
Venue: Redbird Arena  
All-Time Series: Oral Roberts leads 4-0 
Last Meeting: Sept. 5, 1998 | 3-1 ORU Win 
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Match #6 
Southeast Missouri (2-1)
at Illinois State (1-2)
Match Information
Date: Saturday, Sept. 3
First Serve: 2:30 p.m., CT
Location: Normal, Ill. 
Venue: Redbird Arena    
All-Time Series: Illinois State leads 2-0 
Last Meeting: Sept. 11, 2004 | 3-0 ISU Win 
Live Stats: StatBroadcast 
Live Video: ESPN+

Media Coverage
Twitter: @SEMOvb
Match Notes: Southeast Missouri
 
Redhawks Head to Illinois State this Weekend for Redbird Classic 
Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (2-1) continues its non-conference slate this weekend when it heads to Illinois State for the 2022 Redbird Classic Friday and Saturday in Normal, Illinois. SEMO will face Green Bay (1-2) and Oral Roberts (2-1) on Friday before closing the tournament Saturday against host Illinois State (1-2). Match times are set for 12:30 p.m., CT, 5 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., respectively, this weekend. 
 
Follow the Redhawks
• Stats will be available for Friday and Saturday's matches on SEMORedhawks.com
• SEMO's match against Illinois State on Saturday 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
Green Bay
The Phoenix opened the 2022 season with a 1-2 mark at Colorado's Buffs Invitational Aug. 26-27. Green Bay was swept by Colorado and Western Michigan but notched a 3-1 win over Denver in the middle match.
 
Tiffany Paalman was selected as a member of the Buffs Invitational All-Tournament Team. Paalman finished the weekend with a team-leading 28 kills on a hitting percentage of .333 with seven blocks.
 
Green Bay was pegged fourth in the 2022 Horizon League preseason poll. Alexandra Zakutney led the team with 400 kills for 2021 First Team All-Horizon League honors.

Oral Roberts
The Golden Eagles went 2-1 at Missouri State's Mary Jo Wynn Invitational Aug. 26-27 with wins over Tennessee Tech (3-1) of the Ohio Valley Conference and a five-set victory over the host Bears. ORU dropped its season opener to Central Arkansas, 3-1. 
 
Sakira LaCour and Trinity Freeman were named to the Mary Jo Wynn Invitational All-Tournament Team. Freeman led ORU with 47 kills and 52.0 points on the weekend, while LaCour racked up a team-best 22.0 blocks and a .323 attack percentage.
 
In the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Golden Eagles were selected to finish fourth in 2022. LaCour and Freeman were selected as the Preseason Players to Watch.
 
Illinois State
The Redbirds went 1-2 in their opening weekend at Cincinnati's Tribute to #10 Tournament Aug. 26-27 with a season-opening win over the host Bearcats (3-2). Illinois State closed the tournament with losses to Florida State (3-1) and Dayton (3-2).
 
The win was head coach Allie Matters first win as a Redbird.
 
Illinois State was picked by the Missouri Valley Conference's 12 head coaches to win the league in 2022. The Redbirds received five first-place votes while Kaity Weimerskirch and Sarah Kushner (both First Team All-MVC in 2021) were named Preseason All-MVC.
 
Series History
Green Bay
SEMO and Green Bay are tied in the all-time series, 1-1. The two teams last met on Sept. 5, 2003, with the Phoenix prevailing 3-0. 
 
Southeast Missouri won the initial matchup, 3-0, on Sept. 8, 1995. 

Oral Roberts
Oral Roberts lead the all-time series with Southeast Missouri, 4-0.
 
The two teams last met in 1998 (Sept. 5) with ORU earning a 3-1 win. 
 
Illinois State
The Redbirds hold a slight edge, 2-0, in the all-time series against SEMO.
 
ISU most recently swept Southeast Missouri Sept. 11, 2004. 
 
Beilsmith Named OVC Defensive Player of the Week
Senior libero Tara Beilsmith was named the Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday.
 
Beilsmith led the Redhawks defense with 68 digs (5.67 digs/set) and 17 assists (1.42 assists/set) with two service aces over the two-day tournament for SEMO Invitational All-Tournament Team honors.
 
Beilsmith opened the Invitational with 14 digs and five assists in the opener with Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Aug. 26 before registering 27 digs in consecutive matches against North Dakota State (Aug. 26, seven assists) and Jackson State (Aug. 27, five assists). 
 
She committed just one error in serve-receive and started all three matches for SEMO. 
 
Beilsmith now ranks third all-time in the SEMO record books (25-point rally scoring era, 2008-present) with 1,532 career digs. 
 
For Beilsmith, the honor is her seventh career OVC Weekly honor (sixth career Defensive Player of the Week).
 
2022 SEMO Invitational Recap
Colby Greene and Tara Beilsmith were both named to the 2022 SEMO Invitational All-Tournament Team as the Redhawks finished second at their home tournament to open the campaign.
 
SEMO notched a 3-0 season-opening sweep of Arkansas-Pine Bluff before falling to North Dakota State in five. The Redhawks closed out the tournament with a four-set win over Jackson State.  
 
Greene paced SEMO offensively with 40 kills (3.33 kills/set) on a .372 clip, totaling 43.5 points and seven blocks. She opened the tournament with eight kills (.500) in a 3-0 sweep of Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Aug. 26. Greene chipped in 14 kills (.273) with 10 digs for her first career double-double against North Dakota State (Aug. 26) in the night cap. She then led the SEMO offense Aug. 27 against Jackson State with 18 kills on a .486 clip with three blocks and three aces in her first start of the 2022 campaign. 
 
Izzy Lukens registered 76 assists (6.33 assists/set) and 22 digs (1.83 digs/set). She made her first three career starts for SEMO at setter at the tournament. Lukens opened the tournament with 20 assists and a career best five service aces against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Aug. 26). She then followed up that performance with her first career double-double of 27 assists and 13 digs against North Dakota State (Aug. 26). Lukens dished out a career high 29 assists with four digs against Jackson State (Aug. 27) as SEMO hit a season-best .297 in the Invitational finale. She posted 20 or more assists in each SEMO Invitational match this weekend.
 
Kayla Closset posted consecutive double-double matches against North Dakota State (Aug. 26, 12 kills and 14 digs) and Jackson State (Aug. 27, 15 kills and 10 digs). She finished the weekend with 32 kills and 35 digs, starting all three matches at the SEMO Invitational.
 
Zoey Beasley chipped in 37 kills, 17 digs and 10 blocks over the three matches including 20 kills on a .340 clip with eight digs against North Dakota State (Aug. 26).
 
Mackenzie Meehan posted six or more blocks in each match at the SEMO Invitational including seven against North Dakota State (Aug. 26). She started all three matches and leads the Redhawks with 19 blocks. 
 
Redhawk Debuts
Newcomers Rachel Eddy, Jenny Shook, Ramiri Gardner, Kaelyn O'Brien along with redshirt freshman Avery Torrey all made their SEMO debuts this past weekend. 
 
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 Wednesday 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 in 2022 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 weekend's Redbird Classic, the Redhawks will stay on the road for the next two weeks to wrap up non-conference play. SEMO will next head to the UNI (Northern Iowa) Tournament Sept. 9-10 where they will face Grand Canyon, host Northern Iowa, and Western Michigan.