Saluki Invitational
Match #10
Southeast Missouri (4-5)
vs. Bellarmine (3-6)
Match Information
Date: Friday, Sept. 16, 2022
First Serve: 12 p.m., CT
Location: Carbondale, Ill.
Venue: Banterra Center       
All-Time Series: SEMO leads Bellarmine, 5-0
Last Meeting: 3-0 SEMO Win | Nov. 2, 1990 
Live Stats: SIDEARM Stats 
 
Match #11
Southeast Missouri (4-5)
at Southern Illinois (5-4) 
Match Information
Date: Friday, Sept. 16, 2022
First Serve: 7 p.m., CT
Location: Carbondale, Ill.  
Venue: Banterra Center       
All-Time Series: SIU leads SEMO, 21-11
Last Meeting: 3-0 SEMO Win | Sept. 17, 2021 | Houck Field House 
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: SIDEARM Stats 

Match #12
Southeast Missouri (4-5)
vs. Alabama A&M (1-10)
Match Information
Date: Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022
First Serve: 11 a.m., CT
Location: Carbondale, Ill.   
Venue: Banterra Center      
All-Time Series: Alabama A&M leads SEMO, 1-0 
Last Meeting: 3-1 Alabama A&M Win | Aug. 27, 2011 
Live Stats: SIDEARM Stats 

Media Coverage
Twitter: @SEMOvb
Match Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF)
 
Redhawks Wrap Non-Conference Play this Weekend at Saluki Invitational
Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (4-5) heads to Carbondale, Illinois, this weekend for the 2022 Saluki Invitational to conclude non-conference play. SEMO will face Bellarmine (3-6) and Southern Illinois (5-4) in the opening day on Friday at 12 p.m., CT and 7 p.m., respectively, before closing the tournament against Alabama A&M (1-10) Saturday at 11 a.m. Matches will be played at the Banterra Center.

Follow the Redhawks
• Stats will be available for Friday and Saturday's matches on SEMORedhawks.com
• SEMO's match against Southern Illinois on Friday 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
Bellarmine 
The Knights head into the tournament with a 3-6 mark after going 0-3 this past weekend (Sept. 9-10) at their Hawthorn Suites Louisville East Bellarmine Invitational. Bellarmine fell to Seattle (0-3), Gardner-Webb (2-3) and IUPUI (1-3). Jayme Scott was named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
Bellarmine is led by first-year head coach Rick Nold. Last season, the Knights—in just their second year of transitioning to NCAA Division I—posted a 6-22 mark that included a 2-14 showing in ASUN Conference play.

Southern Illinois
The Salukis are 5-4 thus far in non-conference play and most recently won the Central Arkansas Invitational after going 2-1 this past weekend (Sept. 9-10). SIU registered a pair of sweeps of Louisiana Tech (Sept. 9) and Louisiana Monroe (Sept. 10) to bookend a five-set loss to host UCA (Sept. 9). 
 
The Salukis also swept UT Martin in midweek action on Aug. 30 in Martin, Tennessee. 
 
SIU was picked to finish 12th in the Missouri Valley Conference standings this year.

Alabama A&M
The Bulldogs are 1-10 in 2022 and most recently fell to USC Upstate (0-3) on Tuesday in their home opener at Elmore Gymnasium in Huntsvillle, Alabama. 
 
Caitlin Shaw just missed a double-double with nine kills and 14 digs while setter Keyara Brooks did get there with 26 assists and 12 digs. Madison Reagins had seven kills and seven digs while freshman libero Tammy Melendez Mondragon rounded out the top performances with 13 digs.
 
Alabama A&M capped the ISTAP HBCU Challenge Sept. 10 with a 3-0 sweep of South Carolina State for the Bulldogs first win of the campaign. 
 
The Bulldogs went 5-23 in 2021.

Series History
Bellarmine 
SEMO leads the all-time series with Bellarmine, 5-0. The two teams last met on Nov. 2, 1990 with Southeast Missouri earning the sweep. 
 
Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois leads SEMO, 21-11, in the all-time series. 
 
The Redhawks most recently topped their border rival, SIU, 25-17, 25-18, 25-11, in the night cap to wrap the opening day of the 2021 Redhawks Invitational on Sept. 17, 2021. 
 
Laney Malloy paced the offense with 11 kills. Zoey Beasley added six while Talia Gouard, Elissa Moylan, and Colby Greene each chipped in five. The Redhawks hit .355 including a match-best .571 in the first stanza. Claire Ochs dished out 29 assists with four kills and two blocks. 
 
Tara Beilsmith added 15 digs to complement a career-best matching five aces. Ally Dion and Izzy Lukens each had two aces while Kayla Closset posted one.
 
Alabama A&M 
Alabama A&M leads the all-time series with SEMO, 1-0. The two team last met on Aug. 27, 2011 with the Bulldogs taking a 3-1 win at the Memphis Invitational in Memphis, Tennessee. Collen Yarber posted 15 kills with 12 digs. Brittney Kalinoski added 11 kills while Holly Reynolds finished with 10 kills and three blocks. 
 
Kalinoski was named to the All-Tournament Team after she had 40 kills over the weekend and added 27 digs and five service aces.

SEMO and SIU Connection
Head Coach Julie Yankus will take on Southern Illinois, her former school Friday evening at the 2022 Redhawks Invitational. Yankus served as an associate head coach at Southern Illinois from 2007-2010 and has beaten the Salukis three times while at the helm of the Redhawks.
 
The Redhawks most recently topped their border rival, SIU, 25-17, 25-18, 25-11, in the night cap to wrap the opening day of the 2021 Redhawks Invitational on Sept. 17, 2021. 

Beilsmith Named OVC Defensive Player of the Week for Third-Straight Week
Senior libero Tara Beilsmith was awarded OVC Defensive Player of the Week honors for the third-straight week, the league announced Monday.
 
Beilsmith was named to the UNI (Northern Iowa) All-Tournament Team after she paced SEMO with 89 digs (7.42 digs/set) and 14 assists (1.17 assists/set) over the two-day tournament (Sept. 9-10). 
 
The Weldon Spring, Missouri, native, committed just one reception error over SEMO's three matches. The All-Tournament honor is her second of the season and fifth in her career. 
 
Beilsmith opened the tournament with 33 digs and seven assists against Grand Canyon (Sept. 9) followed by 20 digs against tournament host UNI (Sept. 10). 
 
She then registered a season best 36 digs with six assists and an ace in the finale with Western Michigan (Sept. 10). It was her second 30-plus dig outing in 2022 and second of the weekend.
 
Beilsmith ranks second in the NCAA in 2022 with 6.03 digs per set and third overall in the nation with 211 digs. Both marks lead the OVC this season. 
 
For Beilsmith, the OVC honor is her ninth career weekly laurel and eighth career Defensive Player of the Week.
 
2022 UNI Tournament Recap
SEMO most recently went 1-2 this past weekend at the UNI Tournament (Sept. 9-10). The Redhawks fell to Grand Canyon (2-3, Sept. 9) and North Iowa (0-3, Sept. 10) before capping the Tournament with a four-set win over Western Michigan (Sept. 10). 
 
Colby Greene led the Redhawks offensively with 35 kills (2.92 kill/set) on a .200 clip. She opened the tourney with 14 kills and four blocks against Grand Canyon (Sept. 9). Greene followed up that performance with 12 kills on a .310 rate against host UNI (Sept. 10). She concluded the tournament, her first time playing in her home state of Iowa as a collegiate athlete, with nine kills and five blocks versus Western Michigan (Sept.10).
 
Izzy Lukens led the Redhawks with 65 assists (5.42 assists/set). She dished out 26 assists with 11 digs against Grand Canyon (Sept. 9) for the double-double. Lukens added 21 assists against tournament host UNI (Sept. 10). She finished the tournament with 18 assists and nine digs against WMU (Sept. 10).

Zoey Beasley added 30 kills with six digs and six blocks. She had 11 kills against GCU (Sept. 9) and 12 in the finale with WMU (Sept. 10). 
 
Addy McAleer chipped in 23 kills and 23 digs while Lexie Smith had 17 kills and 10 blocks.  
 
Ramiri Gardner made her first three career starts as a Redhawk at the tournament. The freshman from St. Peters, Missouri, finished with 14 kills on a .333 clip with 10 digs. She posted a career high seven kills versus GCU (Sept. 9) and tallied six blocks in the finale with WMU (Sept. 10). 
 
Kayla Closset grabbed 36 digs including a career best 18 in the opener with GCU (Sept. 9) and 13 against Western Michigan (Sept. 10). 
 
Triple-Double Watch
Kaelyn O'Brien, a lefthanded setter from Woodbridge, Virginia, was two kills shy of a triple-double, finishing with a career-best outing of 23 assists, 10 digs, and eight kills with three service aces in SEMO's UNI Tournament finale against Western Michigan (Sept. 10). The double-double was the second in her career as a Redhawk. 
 
O'Brien posted 14 assists with a personal best 10 digs and three aces in her first career start as a Redhawk against Grand Canyon (Sept. 9) to open the UNI Tournament. 
 
The redshirt junior transfer setter from Virginia Commonwealth (VCU), made her return to the SEMO lineup after suffering an injury during the opening weekend of the season. She also had eight assists and seven digs against host UNI (Sept. 10).
 
SEMO last registered a triple-double in 2011 when Julie Shives posted 46 assists, 10 kills and 10 digs against Murray State on Sept. 20, 2011. 
 
Where We Rank
SEMO ranks first in the OVC for blocks (79.5, 2.27 blocks/set), digs per set (16.31), teams attack per set (36.63) and is second for team digs (571) and team total attacks (1,282). 
 
Mackenzie Meehan is second in the league with 35 total blocks while Colby Greene is fourth with 108 kills (3.09 kills/set, seventh).
 
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 final non-conference tournament this weekend, the Redhawks will return home to Houck Field House to defend their 2021 Ohio Valley Conference titles with a series against Tennessee State. The matches are set for 6 p.m., CT and 7 p.m., respectively in the Friday and Saturday matchup.