Match 29 & 30
Western Illinois (7-20, 4-10 OVC) vs. Southeast Missouri (16-12, 8-6 OVC)
 
Match Information: 
Date: Thursday, Nov. 13 – Friday, Nov. 14 
Times: 6 p.m. & 5 p.m.
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo. 
Venue: Houck Field House
Series: SEMO leads 12-2
 
Head Coaches: 
SEMO: Julie Yankus (244-218, 150-108 | 15^th Season)
WIU: Dale Starr (37-80 | Fourth Season)
 
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Live Stats: StatBroadcast (Match #1) | StatBroadcast (Match #2)
Watch: ESPN+ (Match #1) | ESPN+ (Match #2)
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Match Notes (PDF)
Media Guide (PDF)
 
Redhawks Host Western Illinois Thursday & Friday in Final Home Series of Season
Southeast Missouri Volleyball (16-12, 8-6 OVC) will play their final two regular season matches at home this season as they welcome in Western Illinois (7-20, 4-10 OVC) to Cape Girardeau this Thursday and Friday, November 13-14. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. & 5 p.m., respectively, inside Houck Field House. 
 
Series History
The Redhawks and Leathernecks will meet for the 15^th and 16^th time on the volleyball court this week. The series marks the first time the two programs have played since the 2023 season, most recently in the 2023 OVC Volleyball Tournament. The Redhawks are on a six-match winning streak against WIU and defeated them in five sets at the 2023 tournament. WIU's last win came at a neutral site during the 2016 season. 
 
Rivalry Weekend Victory
The Redhawks throttled in-state rival Lindenwood this past weekend, defeating the Lions in four and three sets, respectively, over the pair of matches. The Redhawks were powered offensively by sophomore outside hitter Marin Johnson who finished with 30 kills and a .365 hitting-percentage over the two matches. As an offense, SEMO hit .310 compared to just .195 from their opponents and recorded more assists and aces than Lindenwood. 
 
OVC Offensive Player of the Week
Sophomore Marin Johnson collected her first weekly award this week as she was named the Ohio Valley Conference's 'Offensive Player of the Week'. Marin tallied a season-high 20 kills on Friday night against Lindenwood to lead the Redhawks to a four-set victory. She followed up that performance with 10 kills in Saturday's sweep of the Lions as SEMO extended their winning streak to four games. 
 
Johnson ended the week with 30 total kills on 63 total attacks, with just seven errors, for a .365 hitting-percentage. On Friday night, Johnson had just four errors and ended with a .410 hitting-percentage over four sets. 
 
League Table
With two big wins last weekend, the Redhawks improved their conference record to 8-6 and extended their winning streak to four games in the league. SEMO now sits by itself in sixth place, behind Little Rock and Tennessee Tech who are tied for fifth (9-5). At 4-10, Western Illinois is sitting on the outside of the tournament field in ninth place. Morehead State (13-1) and Eastern Illinois (12-2) sit at the top two spots and play one another this weekend. 
 
Season of Runs
The Redhawks went through a five-match losing streak during the middle of October, but have rebounded nicely since then and are in the middle of a four-match winning streak to close out last month and continued it into November. SEMO has defeated Tennessee State (x2) and Lindenwood (x2) and have dropped just one set in that timeframe. The Redhawks have just four matches remaining, including this week and two more at SIUE (Nov. 18-19). 
 
Nearing the Top 10
As a team, SEMO is among the nation's best in two statistical categories; team assists and total attacks. The Redhawks rank 11^th in all of Division I volleyball in each category having tallied 1,315 total assists and 3,962 total attacks. That ranks the Redhawks in first in the OVC in each category, led by Megan Holder (585 assists) and Lucy Arndt (1,196 attacks). 
 
The Gardner
Saturday's match was a big one for middle blocker Ramiri Gardner. Gardner tied her career-high with a .714 hitting-percentage in the match against Lindenwood as she recorded 10 kills on 14 total attacks. For Gardner, the .714 hitting percentage is the second of her season after recording the same percentage against UT Martin earlier this season (9/24). Saturday's match was her third match this season with double digit kills. 
 
Three-Game Stretch
Senior setter Alandry Below has returned to the SEMO lineup over the last three games and has made a big impact to the offense. In the last three games, Below has totaled 50 total assists for an average of 16.6 assists per game. She now has 293 total assists on the season. 
 
Defensive Prowess
Sophomore Holland Guilliams has featured at her defensive specialist position over the last three games. Guilliams, a Jackson, Missouri-native, has played in three-straight games without recording a single reception error with a flawless 1.000 reception percentage. She also recorded a season-high 16 reception attempts in game two against Lindenwood. Guilliams has also chipped in 18 digs over that time frame bringing her total to 108 total digs over the season. 
 
Veteran Presence
Redshirt junior Kara Oxenknecht has had an impact on the defensive side of the net over the four-match winning streak for the Redhawks. Oxenknecht has recorded at least one block assist in four-straight matches, including four in the first match versus Lindenwood. Oxenknecht has recorded 45 block assists this season and has 53.0 total blocks in 2025. She is averaging 0.84 blocks per set in 63 sets played this year. 
 
Continuing Serve
Libero Nina Schuberth continues to rank herself amongst the nation's best from the service line. Schuberth, who has 43 total aces this season, ranks first in the Ohio Valley Conference and 23^rd in the country from the service line. She finished last week with three service aces on 30 total attempts.