Women's NIVC Tournament
Southeast Missouri (19-13, 15-3 OVC) at Georgia Southern (21-6, 10-4 Sun Belt)
 
Match Information: 
Date: Friday, December 6
Time: 5:00 p.m., CT. 
Location: Statesboro, Ga. 
Venue: Hanner Fieldhouse
Series: First Meeting
 
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Redhawks Open Women's NIVC Tournament Friday at Georgia Southern
Southeast Missouri Volleyball (19-13, 15-3 OVC) will open the first round of the 2024 Women's National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) on Friday, December 6, against host-Georgia Southern (21-6, 10-4 Sun Belt). First serve is set for 5:00 p.m., CT. from Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro, Georgia. 
 
Peach State History
The Redhawks and Eagles will meet for the first time on Friday night in volleyball as SEMO has only played three schools from the state of Georgia. The Redhawks have played just three times against Georgia schools and hold an 0-3 record against them. SEMO has faced SEC member Georgia (0-1), ACC member Georgia Tech (0-1), and Sun Belt member Georgia State (0-1). Head coach Julie Yankus was an assistant coach at Georgia State for two seasons during the 2004 and 2005 season(s). 
 
Postseason Tournament
The Redhawks have competed in postseason tournament's seven times, all in the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament. Friday's match will mark the first competition in the NIVC Tournament. SEMO Is looking for their third win in a national tournament setting. The Redhawks defeated Valpariso in the 1996 NCAA Tournament (3-1) and downed North Carolina (3-2) in the 2000 NCAA Tournament. 
 
Last Time Out
The Redhawks concluded the Ohio Valley Conference season with a 3-1 loss in the semifinals to #4 Morehead State. SEMO opened the match with a 25-23 victory, MSU used a 25-22, 25-20, and 27-25 fourth set win to clinch a spot in the championship final. The Redhawks were led offensively by Lucy Arndt who finished with 19 kills on 57 total attempts, just five errors, for a .246 hitting-percentage in the match. She recorded 17 digs for her 18th double-double to conclude the season. Arndt was one-of-two Redhawks who finished in double figures as rightside hitter Abby Johnson chipped in 13 kills on 37 total attacks. She finished with a .135 hitting mark. MSU edged the Redhawks on the defensive side of the net, totaling 12 blocks to just six for the Redhawks as Amelia Nott had a game-high five block assists.  Freshman Alaina Lester led SEMO with four block assists on the evening. 2024 Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year Nina Schuberth turned in 30 digs and finished with a perfect reception percentage (eight attempts) for the second-straight match.
 
All-OVC Honors
The Redhawks landed three players on the 2024 Postseason All-OVC list including Nina Schuberth, Lucy Arndt, and Abby Johnson. 
 
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.
 
1,000 Kills Club
Abby Johnson joined the 1,000 kills club in the quarterfinals match of the 2024 OVC Tournament against #8 Tennessee State. She entered the season with 666 kills from her previous four seasons at Bradley before graduating and transferring to SEMO. The rightside hitter finished the regular season with 326 kills to bring her total to 992. She recorded 10 kills in the match against TSU, turned in 13 kills against Morehead State, and now has 1,015 kills in her career. 
 
Yankus
After her 14^th season in charge of SEMO Volleyball, Head Coach Julie Yankus is now 228-206 in 14 seasons as the head coach of SEMO Volleyball with an overall record of 142-102 in Ohio Valley Conference play. She has two OVC regular season titles under her belt after the 2024 campaign.
 
Scouting Georgia Southern 
The Eagles play host with a 21-6 overall record and a 10-4 Sun Belt record. After earning a #2 seed in the Sun Belt conference tournament GSU swept South Alabama in the quarterfinals then fell to Arkansas State (0-3) in the semifinals.
 
Three Eagles picked up SBC Volleyball postseason honors: Reagan Barth (First Team), Kirsten Barrett (Second Team) and Ashlyn Lovett (Second Team).
 
Barth led the Eagles with 320 kills and hitting .248, third on the team. She finished second on the Eagles in digs (257) and digs per set (2.99). Was first in the conference in aces per set (29th NCAA) at 0.43, third in kills per set (96th NCAA) at 3.68, first in total aces (67th NCAA) at 39 and third in points per set (56th NCAA).
 
Barrett was named to the Second Team after she dished a career-best 867 assists, averaging 9.85 assists per set on the team that led the conference in assists per set, passing at a .431 clip during conference play and .407 all season. She also recorded 53 kills, 182 digs (2.07/s), 32 aces (0.32/s) and 17 total blocks, finishing third in the conference in aces per set, second in assists per set (50th NCAA) and fourth in total assists.
 
Lovett averaged a league-best 5.17 digs per set, part of the team that led the conference in digs per set and finished 16th in the country. Totaled 455 digs and placed eighth in all of the NCAA in digs per set and 66th in the NCAA in total digs. Recorded double-digit digs in every game this season, including a three-set program record 31. The senior had 20+ digs 17 times, 30+ twice, and was charged with just 20 errors all season.
 
GSU notched 1312 (.252) total kills for 14.0 kills per set and 1200 assists this season. On defense the Eagles tallied 1648 (17.5 digs per set) digs and 203.5 (97 solo) total blocks.
 
Head Coach Chad Willis is in his sixth season at the helm of GSU volleyball and has led the eagles to the NIVC two years in a row and their first two 20+ win seasons.