Matches 4-6
 
Tournament Information
Event: MTSU Tournament
Dates: Friday, Sept. 6 – Saturday, Sept. 7
Times: Match #1 – 1:00 P.M. | Match #2 – 7:00 P.M. | Match #3 (Sat.) – 2:00 P.M.
Opponent: Match 1 – Austin Peay | Match 2 – Middle Tennessee | Match 3 – Lehigh
Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn. 
Venue: Alumni Memorial Gymnasium
Series History: SEMO leads APSU 42-32 | SEMO leads MTSU 20-4 | First meeting with Lehigh
 
Follow the Redhawks
X: @SEMOvb
Live Stats: Match 1 | Match 2 | Match 3
Watch: ESPN+ (MTSU Match Only)
 
Media Guide
 
Volleyball Heads to Volunteer State for Middle Tennessee Tournament
Southeast Missouri volleyball (0-3) will head to Murfreesboro, Tenn. for three matches over the weekend at the Middle Tennessee State Tournament. The Redhawks will play a pair of matches on Friday, Sept. 6, against Austin Peay (1-2) and the host, Middle Tennessee (0-2) at 1 and 7 p.m., CT., respectively. 
 
SEMO will conclude the two-day tournament on Saturday, Sept. 7, against Lehigh (2-1) at 2 p.m. 
 
The Opponents
SEMO will face off against former Ohio Valley Conference rival, Austin Peay, in the first match of the MTSU Tournament. The Redhawks & Governors will meet for the 75^th time in the series, and the second time in two seasons. SEMO holds a 42-32 advantage in the series and most recently defeated the Governors, 3-1, in 2023.
 
The Redhawks have dominated the overall series against Middle Tennessee to the tune of a 20-4 series lead against the Blue Raiders. The teams last met on Sept. 20, 2013, in a match that saw MTSU win 3-0. In the series, MTSU is on a three-match win streak with SEMO's last win coming in 1998 with a 3-0 victory. 
 
The final match of the tournament will feature a 'battle of the Hawks' as the Redahwks will face the 'Mountain Hawks' of Lehigh of the Patriot League. The Saturday afternoon matchup marks the first time the two schools have faced each other in volleyball. 
 
At the Net
Freshman middle blocker Alaina Lester, who made her SEMO debut a weekend ago, finished the weekend with 10 total blocks over three-matches at Arkansas State. The Millstadt, Ill.-native recorded three solo and seven block assists. She leads the team in total blocks and ranks seventh in the Ohio Valley Conference. 
 
All-Tournament Honors
Last week at the A-State Invitational, rightside hitter Abby Johnson and middle blocker Ramiri Gardner were selected to the all-tournament team for their performances over the weekend. Johnson finished the weekend with 26 kills, 15 errors, on 82 total attacks for a .134 hitting-percentage. She added in eight total blocks (one solo, seven assists) at the net. 
 
Gardner registered 19 kills on 44 total attacks with just two errors to finish her weekend with a .386 hitting-percentage. The redshirt sophomore chipped in seven blocks of her own, with four solo blocks and three assists. 
 
Debutants
10 Redhawks made their SEMO debut a weekend ago in Jonesboro. Transfers Abby Johnson, Kennedey Johnson, Mackenzie Tucker, Alandry Below, Abbey Richman, and Lexi Morse registered their first action in a new collegiate uniform. 
 
Freshman Alaina Lester, Megan Holder, Holland Guilliams, and Marin Johnson all played in their first collegiate volleyball matches. Lester started all three matches over the weekend, while Holder made her first collegiate start in the final match against Ole Miss. 
 
Team Stats
After the first three matches of the 2024 season, here is how the Redhawks finished as a team: 
 

• Recorded 99 kills, 67 errors, on 390 total attacks for a .082 hitting-percentage
• Averaged 9.00 kills-per-set
• Dished out 93 assists on 379 attempts (.245) for an average of 8.45 assists-per-set
• Finished with 25 total blocks for a 2.27 blocks-per-set mark
• Registered 150 digs with a 13.64 digs-per-set mark, led by Abbey Richman with 54

 
The Libero
Graduate student Abbey Richman, who transferred from Wofford, was in the lineup as the Redhawks' libero. All over the court, Richman finished with the most digs on the team with 54 over three matches. She currently ranks sixth in the OVC for the category. 
 
Last Time Out
SEMO Volleyball fell in all three matches at the A-State Invitational beginning with a 3-0 loss to the host, Arkansas State. Avery Torrey, Ramiri Gardner, and Marin Johnson led the way for SEMO with four kills each. 
 
The Redhawks played their second match of the tournament against Saint Louis in a match that saw the Bilikens win 3-1. Setter Alandry Below recorded a team-high 19 assists in the match, while Abbey Richman finished with 21 digs. 
 
The tournament finale for SEMO featured a match with Mississippi where the Redhawks fell 3-1 to the Southeastern Conference opponent. Two Redhawks finished in double-digits for kills in Abby Johnson and Lucy Arndt with 12 and 10, respectively.
 
Scouting the Opponent
Austin Peay
The Governors started the 2024 season with a 1-2 performance at the Memphis Invitational in Memphis, Tenn. a weekend ago. APSU picked up its lone win of the tournament against Mississippi Valley State by a final score of 3-0. 
 
APSU began the tournament with a 3-0 loss to fellow OVC member, Tennessee Tech, before losing on the final day to the host, Memphis, by the same score. 
 
After the first weekend, the Govs are led offensively by Sarah Carnathan who finished the weekend with 21 total kills. Dani Kopacz (18) and Payton Deidesheimer (14) rounded out the top three offensive performers. 
 
Setter Maggie Duyos paced the offense with her 42 assists to lead the team. Kayleigh Ryan recorded 34 assists to help Duyos from the setter position. 
 
At the net, Deidesheimer led the APSU defense with 10 total blocks. Luci Lippelgoos and Carnathan chipped in nine and five blocks, respectively. 
 
The Governors are led by head coach Taylor Mott who is in her 10^th season in 2024.
 
Middle Tennessee
The Blue Raiders enter their home tournament with an 0-2 record with losses coming to Washington (3-0) and Montana (3-1). MTSU notched 51 total kills (.151%) against Montana State and 29 kills (.082%) against WU.
 
Setter Andi Spies dished out 45 total assists over the weekend (32 against MSU). The freshman also recorded a total 20 digs against MSU and WU.
 
Kiera Booth tallied 21 total kills while adding four blocks to the stat sheet. The grad transfer led Villinova in blocks last season (80) and recorded 312 kills on a .331 clip. Booth received two All-BIG East honors during her time at Villanova.
 
The Blue Raiders squad this season features five freshmen, two redshirt sophomores, three juniors, one senior and two graduates. 
 
Outside hitters Adri Rhoda and Laure Jansen return after receiving All-Conference nods last season. Rhoda, a junior, received Conference USA first team honors after recording 367 points, 307 kills, 35 aces and 40 blocks. Jansen tabbed second team All-Conference after racking up 251 kills and 253 digs.
 
Chuck Crawford enters his eighth season at the helm of Blue Raider volleyball. Crawford guided the Blue Raiders to their first 20-win season since 2011 and their second appearance in the NIVC in program history.
 
Lehigh
The Mountain Hawks are 2-1 this year with wins against Morgan State (3-1) and Saint Francis (3-0) with their lone loss coming against Towson University (3-2).
 
Against Towson, Lehigh recorded 53 kills on a .183 hitting clip. They also posted 50 assists and 57 digs. 
 
Makena Smith, the Mountain Hawks starting setter, recorded her first double-double this season with 35 assists and 12 digs. Smith has 82 assists through three games averaging 6.83 assists per set. 
 
Lehigh's only 2023 First Team All-Patriot League member and only All-Preseason Team member Megan Schulte recorded nine kills, one blocking assists, and one solo block.
 
Junior right side Natalie Luscomb currently leads the team with 36 on a .438 hitting clip. 
 
Lehigh was picked to finish sixth place in the Patriot League this season. The Mountain Hawks return eight upperclassmen and welcome three newcomers to their program this season.
 
The Mountain Hawks ended the 2023 season with a 5-11 conference record and a 13-14 overall record. 
 
Alexa Keckler enters her seventh year at the helm of Lehigh Volleyball. Keckler has led Lehigh to the Patriot League Tournament with eight players earning All-Patriot League honors.