2024 OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Quarterfinals: 
#8 Tennessee State (10-21, 6-12 OVC) vs. #1 Southeast Missouri (18-12, 15-3 OVC)
 
Game Information: 
Date: Sunday, November 24
Time: 4:00 P.M., CT. 
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo. 
Venue: Houck Field House
This Season vs. TSU: W, 3-0 | W, 3-1
 
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#1 Redhawks Set to Face #8 Tennessee State in Quarterfinals Sunday
#1 Southeast Missouri (18-12, 15-3 OVC) will host #8 Tennessee State (10-21, 6-12 OVC) in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Tournament on Sunday, November 24, at 4 p.m., CT. inside Houck Field House. 
 
Last Time at #1
SEMO Volleyball last won the regular season and hosted the conference's tournament during the 2021 campaign. The Redhawks swept the tournament en route to their first championship since 2019. SEMO would go on to play in the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament at Kentucky (L, 3-0).
 
As a #1 Seed
The Redhawks have been no stranger to being the one seed in the OVC Tournament, but 2024 marks just the second time since 2007 that SEMO Volleyball has been the one seed. The Redhawks are a perfect 7-0 in tournament games when they are the number one seed dating back to 1998. 
 
In Cape Girardeau
Houck Field House has been a fortress for OVC Tournament play for the Redhawks as 2024 marks the fifth time that Volleyball has hosted the tournament. SEMO is 8-1 with #1 next to their name in games played at Houck Field House, dating back to 1991. The Redhawks first hosted in 1997, losing in the semifinals for their only loss in tournament play in Cape Girardeau. 
 
Versus TSU in Tourney
The Redhawks and Tigers will meet for the fifth time between the two and the first meeting since 2022. SEMO and TSU met in the Championship Final in 2022 in Martin, Tennessee in a five-set thriller that saw the Tigers take the title. 
 
The Field
The 2024 OVC Tournament field is headlined by the Redhawks at the number one seed, followed by #2 Lindenwood and #3 Tennessee Tech. The Redhawks are 1-0 and 3-1 against the Lions and Golden Eagles, respectively, in a tournament setting. #4 Morehead State, #5 Western Illinios, #6 Little Rock, and #7 SIUE round out the next four spots. SEMO is 5-4 against MSU, 1-0 with WIU, and has not faced LR or SIUE in a tournament setting. 
 
Tournament Record
Overall, SEMO is 35-22 in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. A season ago, SEMO finished 2-1 falling to champion Eastern Illinois in the final in Charleston, Illinois in 2023 marking the second-straight season ending in a championship loss. 
 
Going for Eight
SEMO Volleyball has won the OVC Tournament seven times in its history and is celebrating its 50^thanniversary in 2024. With a championship, Volleyball will have won their eighth tournament title and the first since 2021. SEMO won the tournament for the first time in 1994 before winning in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2019, and 2021. 
 
Yankus' Tenure
Head Coach Julie Yankus takes her team to the tournament for the 13^th time in 14 seasons as the head coach of SEMO Volleyball. The 2024 season marks the second regular season title for Yankus during her tenure. A tournament championship would mark the third of Yankus' career and would be the third-in-six seasons (2019, 2021). 
 
Postseason Awards
Southeast Missouri Volleyball landed three players on the 2024 Postseason All-OVC lists, the league announced on Saturday prior to the start of the 2024 OVC Volleyball Tournament. 
 
Libero Nina Schuberth and outside hitter Lucy Arndt landed on the First Team All-OVC list while graduate student rightside hitter Abby Johnson finished as a Second Team All-OVC selection.  
 
Schuberth
Sophomore libero Nina Schuberth was selected as the 2024 OVC Defensive Player of the Year marking the third-straight year that a Redhawk has finished with that honor.  Previously, former Redhawk libero Tara Beilsmith won the award in 2022 and 2023. 
 
In 18 league matches, Schuberth led the Ohio Valley Conference in digs with 448 over 71 sets played. She averaged a conference high 6.31 digs-per-set and finished with 107 more digs than the next player. 
 
She was selected as the Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week five different times in 2024, including the final week of the regular season. Schuberth finishes as a first team selection for the first time in her career. 
 
Arndt
Lucy Arndt landed back on the postseason First Team All-OVC list for the second time in a row. The former OVC Freshman of the Year in 2023 finished third in points in OVC play with 294 points, nearly 100 more points than the fourth-place finisher. 
 
Arndt averaged 4.14 points-per-set in league play as she finished the conference season with 256 kills, 17 service aces, 13 solo blocks, and 16 block assists to round out the regular season. 
 
She finished as the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week one time in 2024 (10/28). The first-team selection is the second in two years for Arndt.  
 
Johnson
Rightside hitter Abby Johnson landed on the All-OVC Second Team in her first and final season as a Redhawk after playing in all 30 matches, making 24 starts in 2024. 
 
In OVC play, Johnson made 17-of-18 starts and finished second on the team in kills with 195. Johnson averaged 2.75 kills-per-set in league play, trailing only Arndt who finished with 3.61 KPS. 
 
Johnson was stout on the defensive side of the net as well, finishing second on the team in blocks. She finished with 57 total blocks, including 11 solo and 46 block assists for a 0.80 block-per-set ratio. 
 
She finished just behind Arndt in points as she registered 229.0 points on the season. In 71 sets, Johnson averaged 3.23 points-per-set. 
 
Entering the season, Johnson had accumulated 666 kills in four seasons at Bradley before Southeast. In 2024, she totaled 326 kills and now needs just eight kills to surpass 1,000 for her career. 
 
This Season Vs. TSU
The Redhawks and Tigers met back on October 4 & 5 in Cape Girardeau in a series where SEMO dominated the visitors, winning 3-0 and 3-1 to begin OVC play 4-1 record. Lucy Arndt finished with 14 and eight kills in the two matches, respectively. Ramiri Gardner led the Redhawks in the second match against TSU with a team-high 15 kills on 23 total attacks. She had just one error and finished with a season-best .609 hitting percentage. 
 
Scouting the Opponent
Tennessee State
The Tigers enter the Ohio Valley Conference tournament as the #8 seed with a 10-21 overall record and 6-12 conference record. Going into the tournament the Tigers split with Eastern Illinois. 
 
On offense TSU is led by Jayla Holcombe and Celestial Miller. Holcombe leads the team in kills with 364 (.170) for a 3.01 kills per set ranking fifth and eighth in the OVC. Miller notched 268 total kills and 2.37 kills per set while also serving up 38 aces, ranking third in the conference.
 
Junior setters Sagaia Reilly and Janke Pretorius dished out 645 and 467 total assists for 5.33 and 4.72 assists per set.
 
Graduate Storm White and Junior Maygan Miller-Garcia lead the team on the defensive side. White leads the OVC in blocks with 148 total blocks (37 solo) for 1.23 blocks per set. Miller-Garcia has sent back 89 total attacks for 1.02 blocks per set, ranking ninth and seventh in the conference. 
 
Senior libero, Hadley Pride tallied 595 digs throughout the season ranking fifth in the Ohio Valley. Pride also assisted on 94 attacks.
 
Overall, TSU is ninth in hitting percentage (.167), 11th in kills with 1391 (11.50 per set), second in blocks with 303 (2.50 per set), eighth in service aces (154), and 10th in digs with 1839 (15.20 per set).
 
Head Coach Donika Sutton is in her seventh season. This is her third time coaching in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament and in 2022 she led TSU to the OVC tournament title.