Match #16 & #17
Southeast Missouri (11-4, 3-1 OVC)         
vs. UT Martin (4-11, 2-3 OVC) 
Match Information
Date: Friday, Oct. 6 & Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023
First Serve: 6:00 p.m. | 2:00 p.m. 
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.  
Venue: Houck Field House
All-Time Series: SEMO leads UT Martin 68-24
Last Meetings: at UT Martin (W, 3-2, Nov. 18, 2022)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (Match 1) | StatBroadcast (Match 2)
Watch: ESPN+ (Match 1) | ESPN+ (Match 2)
 
Redhawks Return Home to Face UT Martin in Pivotal OVC Weekend Series
Southeast Missouri volleyball (11-4, 3-1 OVC) will return to Cape Girardeau, Mo. this weekend to host UT Martin (4-11, 2-3 OVC) in a matchup of old OVC rivals on Friday & Saturday, Oct. 6-7. Friday's match will begin at 6 p.m. while Saturday's match will begin at 2 p.m. at Houck Field House. 
 
Pink Out
Friday night's match is SEMO volleyball's 'Pink Out'. Fans are encouraged to wear their pink to support the fight against breast cancer. 
 
Peace, Love, and Energy will be there passing out free pink drinks to help support the cause. 
 
Series History
SEMO and UTM will meet for the 92^nd & 93^rd time on the volleyball court this weekend as the Skyhawks come in on a two-match losing streak in the series. 
 
Last time these two faced-off came in the 2022 OVC Conference Tournament as the Redhawks downed the number one overall seed UTM in Martin, Tenn. to advance to the conference championship match. 
 
Martin's last win in the series came on Sept. 30, 2022, which was a 3-1 victory in Martin. SEMO maintains a 68-24 overall record in the series. 
 
Arndt & Beilsmith Back at It
Tara Beilsmith and Lucy Arndt were selected as Ohio Valley Conference Players of the Week for their performances this past weekend at SIUE, the league announced Monday afternoon. 
 
Tara Beilsmith was tabbed as the league's defensive player of the week as the libero finished the weekend with 69 digs, including 44 digs in Saturday's five-set match. 
 
Beilsmith entered the weekend with 2,518 career digs and is now sitting at 2,587 after the two-match weekend as she is near the OVC record of 2,610 total digs set by Gina Rivera-Ortiz of Tennessee State. 
 
The graduate student from Weldon Spring, Mo. finished the weekend with two service aces and a near-perfect .944 reception percentage as the Redhawks improved to 3-1 in OVC play. 
 
Freshman Lucy Arndt was selected as the OVC Freshman of the Week for the fourth-straight week. 
 
Arndt started and played all eight sets of the weekend matches, finishing the weekend with 29 kills on 93 total attacks for a .215 hitting-percentage. The 29 kills led to a 3.63 kills-per-set ratio as the freshman led SEMO in kills. 
 
Arndt was responsible for 34 points over the weekend, including an impressive 4.25 points-per-set mark which was a team-high over the pair of matches. 
 
In Friday's match, Arndt finished with 13 kills on 34 attempts for an impressive .324 hitting-percentage as the Redhawks swept SIUE on Friday night.
 
Last Time Out
The Redhawks split last weekend's OVC series at SIUE winning Friday night 3-0, but fell Saturday afternoon in a heartbreaking 3-2, five-set loss to the Cougars. Saturday's loss was the first loss in the OVC season for SEMO. 
 
Kayla Closset led the Redhawks on Friday night as SEMO dominated the Cougars. Closset finished the night with 15 kills on 32 attacks for a .344 hitting-percentage including a team-high 17 points. She finished with a service ace, two block assists, and five digs. 
 
The Redhawks won the match 27-25, 26-24, and 25-20 to improve to 3-0 in league play in 2023.
 
As a team, SEMO hit an impressive .298 to the tune of 47 total kills on 121 attacks. On the defensive side of the net, the Redhawks finished with seven blocks and 50 digs led by middle blocker Marisa Guisti and libero Tara Beilsmith, respectively. 
 
Guisti made an impact on the offensive side of the net, finishing with five kills on just 11 attacks for a .455 clip. 
 
Tara Beilsmith, the active leader in the NCAA in digs, wrapped up the three-set match with 25 digs as SIUE hit just .243 on the evening.
 
The Redhawks lost Saturday's match 23-25, 25-18, 25-15, 21-25, and 6-15 in the final set to drop their first match in the Ohio Valley Conference. 
 
Libero Tara Beilsmith had a standout defensive performance on Saturday afternoon as she recorded 44 digs in the five-set thriller for a new season-high in the category. 
 
Four other Redhawks finished in double-digit digs with Lucy Arndt (12), Kayla Closset (12), Izzy Lukens (10), and Nina Schuberth (13). 
 
Two Redhawks finished with double-digit kills in freshman Lucy Arndt and senior Marisa Guisti. The pair combined for 16 and 11, respectively.
 
Scouting the Opponent
UT Martin
The Skyhawks are coming off a 3-1 victory over Tennessee State on Tuesday night and they split with Lindenwood going 1-1 over the past weekend. 
 
Against Tennessee State, setter Haeleigh Paulino recorded a triple-double with ten kills, 32 assists, and ten kills. Paulino is one of two athletes in the OVC to have recorded a triple-double this season.
 
Kayla Bryant led the Skyhawks in kills with 13. Bryant has the most kills for UT Martin this season with 138. Middle blocker Olivia Saunders is close behind with 124 kills.
 
Graduate student Kayla Carrell had a team leading 29 digs for the Skyhawks. Carrell now has 186 digs (3.88 D/S) on the year which is ninth best in the conference. 
 
The Skyhawks also have three other athletes above 130 digs on the season. Dylan Mott has 145 digs (2.79 D/S), Haeleigh Paulino has 135 digs (2.41 D/S), and Kayla Bryant has 132 digs (2.36 D/S). 
 
Paulino has a team leading 274 assists on the season and has five double-doubles on the season. Addy Vaughn is second on the team with 204 assists. 
 
UT Martin is currently in sixth place in the conference. The Skyhawks are 1-2 when playing at home, 1-5 on the road, and 2-4 in neutral sites.
 
Jaclynn Wilson is in her ninth season with the Skyhawks. Wilson has led UT Martin to nine all-conference honorees and over 24 OVC Players of the Week.