Match 29 & 30
SIUE (12-15, 7-9 OVC) vs. Southeast Missouri (16-12, 13-3 OVC)
 
Match Information: 
Dates: Tuesday, Nov. 19 – Wednesday, Nov. 20
Times: 6:00 P.M., CT. & 5:00 P.M., CT. 
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo. 
Venue: Houck Field House
Series: SEMO leads 15-14
 
Follow the Redhawks: 
X: @SEMOVB 
Live Stats: Match 1 | Match 2
Watch: Match 1 (ESPN+) | Match 2 (ESPN+)
Tickets
 
Game Notes (PDF)
Media Guide (PDF)
 
Volleyball Hosts SIUE to Conclude Regular Season Tuesday & Wednesday 
Southeast Missouri Volleyball (16-12, 13-3 OVC) will wrap-up the 2024 regular season in Cape Girardeau on Tuesday and Wednesday, November 19-20, against SIUE (12-15, 7-9 OVC). First serve is set for 6 p.m. on Tuesday and 5 p.m. on Wednesday inside Houck Field House. 
 
Series History 
The Redhawks and Cougars will conclude the regular season with the 30^th and 31^st matchup overall between the two on the volleyball court. SEMO currently holds a 15-14 advantage over SIUE after the two split the series to open the 2023 OVC season. Prior to SIUE winning the second match a season ago, the Redhawks were on a seven-match win streak against SIUE. 
 
What's at Stake? 
Heading into the final week of the season, the Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball standings are full of scenarios how the final standings could shape up. Here are the scenarios for the Redhawks ahead of the final two matches of the regular season: 
 

• Sweep SIUE – Conference Champion, Host 2024 OVC Tournament
• Split with SIUE – Co-Conference Champion (IF Lindenwood sweeps Little Rock), would be the 2-seed based on H2H with Lindenwood (L, 3-1; W, 3-2)
• If both SEMO & LU split their matchups – SEMO Conference Champion, 1-seed, Host.

 
Last Time Out
The Redhawks split their matches against Lindenwood last Thursday and Friday in St. Charles, Missouri beginning with a 3-1 loss on Thursday night. SEMO was led by Marin Johnson and Lucy Arndt who finished with 12 and 11 kills, respectively, as the only Redhawks in double digits. At the net, SEMO out blocked LU by a 13-11 advantage led by Alaina Lester (5), Avery Torrey (4), and Ramiri Gardner (4). LU outhit SEMO by a .190 to .119 advantage, winning the opening match 25-22, 20-25, 25-22, and 25-20. 
 
SEMO bounced back in epic fashion on Friday evening in a five-set thrilling victory. The Redhawks won the first two sets, 25-20 and 25-16, respectively, before dropping the next two to setup a massive fifth set decider. In the final frame, the Redhawks got out to a 6-1 lead and never looked back as SEMO took the fifth set, 15-10, and the match (3-2). 
 
Lucy Arndt paved the way with a game-high 20 kills as the Redhawks outhit Lindenwood .215 to .194 to take a one-game lead in the league table into the final week of the regular season. 
 
Defensive Player of the Week
Libero Nina Schuberth was named the Ohio Valley Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Monday afternoon. In the matches at Lindenwood, Schuberth turned in two 30+ dig performances beginning with Thursday night as she recorded 30. She saved her best for the second match, turning in 33 digs and a near perfect .958 reception percentage. With 67 total digs, Schuberth averaged 7.00 digs-per-set in two matches versus the Lions. The award marks the fourth of the season for Schuberth. 
 
Everyday Hustle
Sophomore Lucy Arndt and freshman Alaina Lester are the only two Redhawks who have started and played all 28 matches so far in 2024. The duo has combined for 459 of SEMO's 1,342 kills as a team. Lester has the second-best hitting percentage on the squad with a .324 mark, just three points behind Ramiri Gardner for the team lead (.327). 
 
Defensive Specialist
DS/Libero Nina Schuberth is on an impressive 18-match streak of double-digit digs beginning on September 21 against Southern Illinois where she dug 22 balls in a five-set match against the Salukis. She has recorded 30+ digs in four matches this season, including a season-high 39 against Morehead State (10/19). She now has back-to-back games with 30+ after splitting with Lindenwood last week. 
 
Regular Season Champs
The Redhawks are in the hunt for another Ohio Valley Conference regular season title in the 50^th Anniversary of the program. SEMO Volleyball has notched 10 regular season OVC titles including the first under Julie Yankus in 2021. With another title, SEMO Volleyball will have 11 OVC Regular Season titles and will mark the second under Yankus in 14 seasons.
 
Dish & Ace
Setter Megan Holder is in the top 10 of the Ohio Valley Conference in both assists and service aces so far in 2024. Holder, a freshman from Freeport, Illinois, currently ranks seventh in the league in assists with 596 over 105 sets played. She averages 5.68 assists-per-set trailing Katie Cruse of UT Martin (6.78 APS). Holder ranks fourth in the league in service aces with 35, averaging 0.33 aces-per-set. Teammate Nina Schuberth holds the single-season program record of aces in a season with 49. 
 
Rack 'Em Up
Lucy Arndt is no stranger to scoring points for the Redhawks this season. Arndt, who leads the Redhawks in kills with 360, currently ranks third in the OVC in points. She is averaging 3.75 points-per-set and has 416.5 points on the season. She trails only Keyana Cruse (WIU) and Madolyn Isringhausen (TTU) who each average more than 5.00 points-per-set.  
 
Defend Houck
The Redhawks have played seven matches in Cape Girardeau this season ahead of the final two matches of the regular season. SEMO currently holds a record of 6-1 with wins over Little Rock, TSU (x2), Eastern Illinois (x2), and Tennessee Tech. The lone loss came at the hands of the Golden Eagles who won the second match of the series, 3-1. 
 
Dig It
This past week, the Redhawks defense has been stout and ranks nationally in defensive categories. In team digs, SEMO ranked first in the Ohio Valley Conference and eighth in the entire country. The Redhawks totaled 178 team digs, trailing first place Furman with 242 team digs. In digs-per-set, SEMO ranked first in the Ohio Valley Conference with 19.78 digs-per-set. The Redhawks ranked 21^st in Division I volleyball at that number. Austin Peay (27.67) led the country. 
 
Scouting the Opponent
SIUE
The Cougars come into Tuesday's match with a 12-15 record overall and a 7-9 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play. Most recently, SIUE swept UT Martin in Edwardsville, Illinois by scores of 3-1 and 3-0, respectively. 
 
Offensively, three Cougars have 200+ kills this season led by Sydney Hummert with 272. Nicole Medlin (241) and Ainsley Ranstead (228) round out the top three offensive threats for SIUE. 
 
The offense runs through a pair of setters in Alyse Drifka and Corinna Jones. Drifka has dished out 576 while Jones follows behind with 486 assists. As a team, SIUE is hitting .184 through 27 matches. 
 
Defensively, middle blocker Taya Nordmann ranks second in the Ohio Valley Conference with 129 total blocks. She is averaging 1.18 blocks-per-set in her freshman season which leads the Cougars defense. She has 103 block assists and 26 solo blocks this season.