CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri Volleyball signed four athletes on Wednesday's signing day, the program announced. Ava Matthews, Brooklyn Ritter, Sydney Miller, and Paige Smith will all join the Redhawks in 2026. 
 
Ava Matthews – Rightside Hitter – 5-10 – Columbia High School – Columbia, Illinois
Rightside hitter Ava Matthews will join the Redhawks after graduating from Columbia High School in 2026. Ava spent the last four seasons playing for Kelly Landgraf at Columbia HS where she lettered all four seasons. 
 
During her senior season, Matthews picked up All-Tournament honors at both the MICDS Tournament and the O'Fallon Tournament. She was named to the 2025 AVCA All-American watchlist and was an AVCA Best and Brightest selection. Upon completing her senior season, Matthews was named a 2025 2A All-State First Team selection. As a team, Columbia High School received the AVCA Team Academic Award. 
 
In 2024, Matthews landed on the Cahokia All-Conference Mississippi Division First Team and was a Mascoutah Invitational All-Tournament selection in the same season.
 
She played club volleyball for STL 18 Royal and played basketball during her high school career. She is a member of National Honor Society. 
 
The daughter of TJ and Jamie Matthews, Ava is undecided on her major at Southeast. 
 
Brooklyn Ritter – Setter – 5-9 – Lincoln Way-East High School – Tinley Park, Illinois
Setter Brooklyn Ritter will join the Redhawks after graduating from Lincoln Way-East High School in 2026. A native of Tinley Park, Illinois, Brooklyn has played the last four seasons for Sean Burns. During her time, Brooklyn's team won the Conference Championship in back-to-back years, broke the school's record for wins in a single-season, and won back-to-back regional championships. 
 
She was awarded the "Program" Award during her freshman season and followed that up with the team's MVP Award in her sophomore campaign. She played club volleyball for 1^st Alliance. 
 
A standout student, Brooklyn is a National Honor Society member, a Dean's List recipient, and an honor roll student. 
 
The daughter of Ken and Maureen Ritter, Brookly intends to major in Business at Southeast. 
 
Sydney Miller – Middle Blocker – 6-2 – Cape Central High School – Cape Girardeau, Mo.  
A native of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Sydney Miller will join the Redhawks upon graduating from Cape Central High School in 2026. Miller spent the last four seasons playing high school volleyball for head coach Sommer Purdue. 
 
Following both her sophomore and junior campaigns, Miller landed on the All-District, All-State, and Academic All-State teams. She played club volleyball for Pursuit Volleyball Academy. 
 
The daughter of Matt and Bridget Miller, Sydney is undecided on her major at Southeast. 
 
Paige Smith – Rightside Hitter – 6-0 – Desoto High School – Desoto, Texas
A native of Desoto, Texas, Paige Smith comes to the Redhawks after graduating from Desoto High School in 2026. Paige has spent the last four years playing on the rightside for head coach Kenndi Dorsey. 
 
For the last four seasons, Paige has been named an All-Academic volleyball player in the state of Texas with a 4.1 GPA. After her sophomore season, Paige was named the 'Prep Dig Top Player'.
 
She finished her career with 600 kills, 108 digs, 159 blocks, and 21 service aces. She has been named First Team All-District all four years of high school and was picked for Under Armour this year. She finished ranked in the Top 100 Volleyball players in the state of Texas. 
 
On the club side, Paige has competed for UEPA 18 Diamond in Texas. The daughter of Horace Smith and Shonta Odom, Paige intends to major in psychology at Southeast.