Match 1-3
 
Tournament Information
Event: A-State Invitational
Date: Friday, Aug. 30 – Saturday, Aug. 31
Time: Match #1 – 1:00 P.M. | Match #2 – 4:00 P.M. | Match #3 (Sat.) – 11:00 A.M.
Opponent: Match 1 – Arkansas State | Match 2 – Saint Louis | Match 3 – Ole Miss
Location: Jonesboro, Arkansas
Venue: First National Bank Arena
Series History: ASU leads SEMO 27-19 | SLU leads SEMO 24-18 | Ole Miss leads 3-0
Last Meeting: SEMO Vs. ASU (L, 3-1, 2019); vs. SLU (W, 3-1); vs. Ole Miss (L, 3-1)
 
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X: @SEMOvb
Live Stats: Match 1 | Match 2 | Match 3
Watch: ESPN+ (First match only)
 
Volleyball Begins 2024 Campaign at Arkansas State Tournament Friday & Saturday
Southeast Missouri volleyball (0-0) will open the 2024 season on Friday & Saturday, August 30 & 31, at the 'A-State Invitational' hosted by Arkansas State in Jonesboro, Ark. The Redhawks will play a pair of matches on Friday and a single match on Saturday from the First National Bank Arena. 
 
The Tournament
The Redhawks will be pitted against the host, Arkansas State, the Atlantic-10's Saint Louis, and Mississippi of the Southeastern Conference. 
 
SEMO will begin play at 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon against the host before turning around to play Saint Louis at 4 p.m. on the same day. The Redhawks will conclude the tournament on Saturday morning against Ole Miss at 11 a.m.
 
Series History 
The Redhawks opponents for the first weekend are familiar ones to the program as SEMO has faced off with A-State, Saint Louis, and Ole Miss a combined 91 times, the most coming against the Red Wolves. 

ASU holds a 27-19 advantage in the series against SEMO dating back to the first meeting in 1976. Most recently, SEMO & ASU faced off in 2021 in Cape Girardeau in a match that saw ASU win 3-2. ASU is currently on a five-match winning streak with SEMO's last win coming in 2009 (3-1). 
 
Saint Louis and SEMO faced off in Kansas City a season ago in a match that the Redhawks won 3-1 which extended SEMO's winning streak to two matches against the Bilikens. SLU holds a 24-18 advantage but have not beaten the Redhawks since 2015. 
 
Ole Miss is the least familiar opponent to SEMO on opening weekend as the two schools have met just three times on the volleyball court. The Rebels hold a 3-0 advantage with the last meeting coming at a neutral site in 2009 (3-1 Ole Miss).  
 
Preseason Watchlist
Sophomore Lucy Arndt and graduate student Abby Johnson landed on the Preseason Ohio Valley Conference team(s) ahead of the 2024 campaign. 
 
Arndt, an outside hitter from Freeport, Ill., finished 2023 as the conference's 'Freshman of the Year' after registering 446 kills in just her first season with the Redhawks. On 1300 attacks, Arndt finished with a .222 hitting-percentage and added in 46 total blocks. She finished the year with 515.0 points. 
 
Rightside hitter Abby Johnson is new to the program after spending her first four collegiate seasons at Bradley University. Johnson was selected to the Preseason OVC 'Players to Watch' list. 
 
2024 Squad
The 2024 volleyball team is made up of 18 players with six returners from a season ago, six freshman, and six transfers to comprise the 50^th anniversary of SEMO volleyball. 
 
Returning from the squad a season ago are sophomores Nina Schuberth (DS/L), Lucy Arndt (OH), juniors Ramiri Gardner (MB), Jenny Shook (S), Avery Torrey (RS), and graduate student Kayla Closset (OH). 
 
A talented freshman class, who will play their first season of collegiate volleyball in 2024, is made up of Marin Johnson (OH), Alayna Christner (RS), Megan Holder (S), Jacey Young (MB), Alaina Lester (MB), and nearby Jackson, Mo.-native Holland Guilliams (DS/L). 
 
The remaining six are comprised of transfers who already have collegiate volleyball experience under their belt, including five division I transfers and one junior college transfer. Setter Alandry Below, of Advance, Mo., joins the 2024 squad after spending two seasons at Mineral Area College. 
 
Outside hitter Mackenzie Tucker (St. Peter's), rightside hitter Abby Johnson (Bradley), setter Kennedey Johnson (North Alabama), libero Abbey Richman (Wofford), and middle blocker Lexi Morse (Quinnipiac) round out the roster. 
 
Julie Yankus
Head coach Julie Yankus returns for her 14^th season at the helm of SEMO volleyball. Through 13 seasons as the head coach of the Redhawks, Yankus has compiled a 209-193 overall record and an Ohio Valley Conference record of 127-99.
 
Yankus' teams have competed at the OVC Championship Tournament in 12 of her 13 seasons at SEMO. She has mentored 26 All-OVC Team selections, two OVC All-Newcomer Team selections, one OVC Freshman of the Year (Lucy Arndt) and 11 All-OVC Tournament Team honorees.
 
In 2023, Yankus led the Redhawks to the fourth OVC championship finals appearance in five years, but fell to the No. 1 seed and host, Eastern Illinois in three-sets (21-25, 16-25, 20-25). SEMO has now registered 10 or more OVC wins in each of the last five seasons and 14 or more overall wins in each of the last six season.
 
Preseason Poll
SEMO Volleyball was selected to finish first in the Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Poll voted on by the league's head coaches and communicators. 
 
The Redhawks received six first place votes and 167 points. Eastern Illinois (166) and Morehead State (163) were just behind with five first place votes each. 
 
Tennessee Tech (4), Lindenwood (1), and SIUE (1) also received first place votes. The Golden Eagles (152) are projected to finish fourth with the Lions (145) right behind them in fifth. 
 
Southern Indiana (97), UT Martin (84), SIUE (83), Western Illinois (74), Little Rock (51), and Tennessee State (29) round out the final six spots in the preseason rankings. 
 
Arndt You Glad She's a Redhawk
Sophomore Lucy Arndt returns for her second season in Cape Girardeau after a stellar freshman season. 
 
Arndt became just the first freshman in SEMO volleyball history since 2000 to be voted as the Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, marking the first player in the Yankus era to garner the award. 
 
The Illinois-native recorded the third-most kills in a single-season in program history with 446 including a season-best 34 against Western Illinois on November 3. She finished the year with 3.57 kills-per-set and averaged 4.12 points-per-set. 
 
Arndt also finished tied for third in single-season history with 39 service aces, and sixth all-time in total attack attempts for a single season (1300). 
 
Schuberth Ace
Sophomore defensive specialist/libero Nina Schuberth etched her name In the SEMO record books from a season ago as she recorded the most service aces in a single season in school history. 
 
Schuberth, of Yorkville, Ill., aced the competition 49 times a season ago edging out former Redhawk Laney Malloy who had 47 in 2019. 
 
Scouting the Opponent
Arkansas State
A-State is coming off a 16-15 overall record and a 5-11 conference mark where they lost in the second round of the Sun Belt Conference Championship to Georgia Southern (3-1). 
 
ASU returns 11 players from last year's squad led by sophomore outside hitter, Kaitlin Whitlock. Whitlock recorded 319 kills during her freshman season in Jonesboro over 30 starts and 107 sets played. 
 
Junior middle blocker Yazmyn Billings also returns to the ASU squad after chipping in 175 kills and 74 total blocks (16 solo, 58 assists). 
 
Arkansas State is led by head coach Brian Gerwig who enters his third season as the head coach in 2024.
 
Saint Louis
The Billikens finished the 2023 season with an overall record of 16-16 and a conference record of 8-10. Their season ended with a 3-1 loss to Dayton in the semifinals of the Atlantic-10 Conference tournament.
 
SLU brought in ten new athletes: nine freshman and one graduate student, while also returning ten athletes. They return five starters from last year's squad, Carlie Rodgers, Delaney Rice, Trinity Luckett, Addie Lyon, Kate Aupperle.
 
Rice earned second team Atlantic-10 all-conference honors last season after leading the Billikens in kills last year with 396 and adding 61 total blocks. 
 
Luckett was named to the A-10 All-Rookie team after recording 141 kills through 108 sets, including four double-digit outings. The 6-2 middle blocker also ranked second for the Billikens in total blocks, compiling 93.
 
In their lone exhibition match, Saint Louis defeated Southern Illinois in straight sets. The Billikens produced a strong .294 attack percentage as SLU earned advantages in kills (47-37), assists (47-36), digs (44-37), blocks (7-4) and service aces (8-4).
 
Head coach Andrea Beaty returns for her second season at the helm of the program. Beaty lead the team to a 10-13 road record last season.
 
Ole Miss
The Rebels start their 2024 campaign coming off a 11-18 overall record and 5-13 conference record. 
 
This year's Ole Miss squad features nine returnees, three freshmen, and three transfers. 
 
Ole Miss is returning three of their top four hitters from last season, Payton Brgoch, Julie Dyess, and Sasha Ratliff. Ratliff led the Rebels with 249 kills hitting a .349 clip. At the net, Ratliff had 104 total blocks last season and has recorded 100 blocks in the past three seasons.
 
Emma Ammerman, the senior transfer from Pepperdine has 444 total kills in her career for an average of 1.63 kills per set. She looks to make a strong impact for the Rebels this season.
 
Cammy Niesen is back with the Rebels this season after accumulating a team high and second in the SEC, 448 digs (4.04 dig per set) last season. Niesen was also the only Rebel to appear in all 111 sets last year. 
 
Senior Sommer Dainels is the only returning setter on Ole Miss' roster from a season ago. She appeared in 13 games, posting 304 assists with an average of 7.60 assist per set. 
 
Bre Henry will be entering her third season as the head coach for Ole Miss. With the Rebels Coach Henry has an overall record of 22-35 and an SEC record of 12-24.