McNeese State Tournament 
Southeast Missouri (3-2, 0-0 OVC)         
vs. Jackson State (1-3) & McNeese State (1-6) & Sam Houston (4-3)
Match Information
Date: Friday, Sept. 8 & Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023
First Serve: Friday: 10:30 a.m. | 6:30 p.m. & Saturday 10:30 a.m.
Location: Lake Charles, La.  
Venue: Legacy Center
All-Time Series: SEMO leads Jackson State 3-1 | McNeese State 2-1 | Trails Sam Houston 0-1
Last Meeting: SEMO 3, Jackson State 1 (2022) | SEMO 3, McNeese State 2 (1995) | SEMO 0, Sam Houston 2 (1983)
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
 
Redhawks Head to McNeese State Invitational to Continue Non-Conference Play
Southeast Missouri volleyball will compete in the McNeese State Invitational this weekend beginning with a pair of matches on Friday, Sept. 8 against Jackson State (1-3) and the host, McNeese State (1-6). First serve is slated for 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., CT., respectively, in Lake Charles, La.  
 
SEMO will conclude the tournament on Saturday, Sept. 9, when they face Sam Houston (4-3) at 10:30 a.m. 
 
Series History
The three matches the Redhawks face will feature opponents with little history with SEMO. As the three teams combined have only faced each other eight times. 
 
Most recently, SEMO faced off with Jackson State a season ago in the 2022 SEMO Invitational. The Redhawks dominated that match to the tune of a 3-1 victory over the Tigers. 
 
Next up will be the McNeese State Cowboys as the Redhawks and the tournament hosts will meet for just the fourth time on the court. SEMO leads the overall series by a tally of 2-1, most recently defeating MSU 3-2 in 1995.
 
SEMO will wrap-up the tournament with Sam Houston, a team the Redhawks have faced just one time in program history dating all the way back to 1983. Sam Houston leads the overall 1-0. 
 
Tara is Back
Graduate student libero Tara Beilsmith picked up Defensive Player of the Week honors in the Ohio Valley Conference, the league announced Monday afternoon. 
 
Beilsmith, a graduate student from Weldon Spring, Mo., continued her presence on the SEMO back line accumulating 36 digs over the two-game tournament in Chicago, Ill. this past weekend for a .971 reception percentage and six digs per set. 
 
Against Chicago State, Tara had 22 attempts and did not have a single error (1.000). 
 
The award marks the first for Beilmsith this season and she is the second Redhawk to pick up weekly honors from the OVC this season (Arndt, 8/28).
 
Windy City Recap
SEMO volleyball finished the Windy City Classic with an overall record of 1-1 last Friday & Saturday in Chicago, Ill. 
 
The Redhawks started off the tournament with a sweep of former OVC-rival Jacksonville State on Friday afternoon. 
 
The Redhawks won 27-25, 25-21, and 25-13 to earn their second sweep of the season and their third win overall on the campaign. 
 
Kayla Closset made her presence felt in her return to the SEMO lineup after missing last weekend's tournament. Closset, the senior from Naperville, Ill., finished with nine kills and tied for the team lead in the category.
 
She also tallied one ace out of 15 serve attempts in the contest. 
 
The Redhawks and Gamecocks battled in the first set as SEMO built a 23-18 lead late into the first frame. JSU would respond with a 5-0 run to tie it at 23 before SEMO was forced to call a timeout. 
 
SEMO would come out and secure the first set with a 27-25 finish. As a team, the Redhawks hit 61-percent to JSU's 57-percent. 
 
Following the first frame, it was all Redhawks. SEMO would hit 78-percent and 84-percent in the second and third set(s), respectively as the Redhawks finished with a team-attack of .178.
 
The Redhawks turned around Saturday and were swept by the host, Chicago State, 3-0 to conclude the tournament. SEMO dropped all three sets (24-26, 17-25, 28-30). The first set saw the Redhawks hit a game high .239 with 15 kills. The Redhawks had the upper hand in the third set with a 17-10-point lead but ultimately lost the lead.
 
Talia Gouard led the Redhawks with a season high 12 kills on 26 total attacks (.423). Gouard also added two block assists. 
 
Tara Beilsmith paced the Redhawks with 20 total digs. Lucy Arndt was second on the team in digs with 13. Arndt also recorded nine kills, hitting at a .261 clip which was second on the team.
 
Scouting the Opponent
Jackson State
The Lady Tigers are coming off their first victory, after dropping their first three to SF Austin, Tulane, and South Alabama. Jackson State beat the University of Louisiana-Monroe 3-2. 
 
Against ULM Jackson State had a season high 78 team kills with freshman Hope Briggs leading the way with 18 kills on her own. Morghan Chambers and Jordan Jones also added ten kills apiece. 
 
Briggs leads the team in kills with 43 registering 2.87 kills per set, hitting on a .169 clip. Senior, outside hitter Alexis Williams is second on the team in kills and in digs with 36 kills and 39 digs.
 
Last week Briggs was named SAWC volleyball newcomer of the week. The Lady Tigers first award of the season.
 
Freshman setter Naija Gadis has recorded 20 or more assists in every match this season. Recently Gadis notched 31 assists against ULM, but her season high is 35 against South Alabama. 
 
Jackson State is coached by Rose Washington. Washington is entering her 22nd season with the Lady Tigers and has led them to four NCAA tournament appearances. 
 
McNeese State
The Cowgirls enter the tournament 1-6 with their only win coming on Sept. 5, with a sweep against Southern (3-0).
 
MSU posted an attacking percentage of .313, with 43 kills against Southern. Three Cowgirls notched double digit kills and freshman setter Megan Grose posted a season high 37 assists.
 
With 64 kills on a hitting clip of .143, junior outside hitter Carrissa Chainey leads the team on offense. Chainey has also tallied 56 digs and 11 total blocks both second on MSU.
 
Grose leads the team in assists, dishing out 153 while also adding 16 kills of her own. The true freshman has notched 35 digs and two blocks this campaign as well.
 
Libero Bailey Tillman notched 79 digs through seven games while tallying 15 assists.
 
McKenzie Moore has provided help on offense and defense for the Cowgirls racking up 44 kills and a team leading 17 blocks. Moore also leads the team in service aces with seven.
 
Sam Houston
The Bearkats are coming into the McNeese tournament with a 2-1 record at the Tulane Invitational. The Bearkats beat Alabama A&M and Tulane 3-1 and fell to Alabama 1-3.
 
During the first tournament of the season, the Bearkat Invitational, they went 2-2. With wins against Nicholls and Oral Roberts and losses against Portland and Texas A&M Corpus Christi. 
 
The Bearkats registered 50 total kills on 142 total attempts (.268 clip) against Alabama. They also had 45 assists, 67 digs, and eight blocks. 
 
Alyssa Fielder led the team in kills during the Tulane Invitational. Fielder had 42 kills and recorded 26 digs. Against Alabama Fielder notched her third double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs. 
 
Junior middle blocker McKenzie Morvant notched three solo blocks and eight block assists during the tournament. Morvant has five solo blocks and 19 block assists on the season and is second on the team in kills with 70 (.372 clip). 
 
Setter Avery Fowler had two double-double games during the Tulane Invitational. 43 assists and 16 digs against Tulane and 19 assists and ten digs against Alabama. 
 
Libero Hannah Baker has 138 digs (4.76 digs/set) this season and notched 70 digs during the Tulane tournament (5.83 digs/set).