Maroon & White Invite (Match 1-3)
 
Tournament Information: 
Dates: Friday, August 29 – Saturday, August 30
Times: 11 a.m. | 6 p.m. | 3 p.m.
Location: Starkville, Miss.
Venue: Newell-Grissom Building
Opponents: Grambling State, Mississippi State, North Alabama
 
Head Coaches: 
SEMO: Julie Yankus (228-207, 15^th Season)
Mississippi State: Julie Darty Dennis (87-107, Seventh Season)
Grambling State: Paige Phillips (Fourth Season)
North Alabama: Tristan Johnson (Fourth Season) 
 
Follow the Redhawks: 
X: @SEMOvb 
Live Stats: Grambling State | Mississippi State | North Alabama
Watch: Mississippi State (SECN+)
 
Match Notes (PDF) 
 
Volleyball Begins 2025 Season at Mississippi State Tournament Friday-Saturday
Southeast Missouri Volleyball (0-0) will begin the 2025 season this Friday and Saturday, August 29-30, at the 'Maroon & White Invite' hosted by Mississippi State. The Redhawks will play three matches beginning with Friday morning against Grambling State (11 a.m.) before taking on the tournament host, Mississippi State on Friday night (6 p.m.). The tournament will conclude on Saturday with a single match against North Alabama (3 p.m.). 
 
Series History
Grambling State: The Redhawks and Tigers will meet for the first time in volleyball on Friday morning. 
 
Mississippi State: Friday evening's meeting will mark the fifth time that SEMO Volleyball has matched up with the Bulldogs. The two teams are split at 2-2 in the overall series with the last meeting coming in 2014 (3-2 MSU). The Redhawks defeated MSU during the 2010 & 2013 campaigns with a clean sweep (3-0) in 2010, and a 3-1 win in 2013 both matches in Starkville, Miss. 

North Alabama: Saturday afternoon's matchup marks the sixth time the Redhawks & Lions have met on the volleyball court. SEMO Volleyball is a perfect 5-0 against UNA with the last meeting happening in 2019. The Redhawks have yet to drop a set to UNA, defeating the Lions 3-0 in all five meetings. 
 
Yankus' 15^th Season
Head coach Julie Yankus enters her 15^th season in 2025 at the helm of SEMO Volleyball. She has compiled a 228-207 overall record and a 142-102 Ohio Valley Conference mark in her career. Under Yankus, the Redhawks have won two OVC Tournament Championships (2019 & 2021) and Regular season titles (2021 & 2024). She has been named OVC Coach of the Year once in her career (2021). The Redhawks have now competed in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament in 13 of Yankus' 14 seasons. She has mentored 29 All-OVC Team selections, three OVC DPOY selections (Tara Beilsmith 2x, Nina Schuberth), and one OVC Freshman of the Year (Lucy Arndt). 
 
Championship Pedigree
The Redhawks are coming off a 19-14 season in 2024 with a 15-3 OVC record. In 2024, SEMO Volleyball captured its 11^th Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship, the most of any OVC school, past or present, in league history. As a program, SEMO Volleyball has captured 11 OVC regular season titles and seven tournament championships. 
 
Tabbed First
SEMO Volleyball was picked to finish first in the 2025 Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Poll voted on by the league's head coaches and communications staff. SEMO received 15 first-place votes and 194 points overall, 33 points ahead of second place Lindenwood (161). 
 
All-Conference Honors
Two All-OVC First Team selections return from the 2024 campaign in outside hitter Lucy Arndt and libero Nina Schuberth. Lucy Arndt finished with 437 kills in 2024 on a career-high 1480 total attacks. She finished with a .170 hitting-percentage and averaged 3.93 points-per-set. She is a two-time OVC First Team selection in her first two seasons in Cape Girardeau. 
 
Libero Nina Schuberth finished as the 2024 OVC Defensive Player of the Year for the first time in her career after a stellar season on the backline. Schuberth finished with a career-high 563 digs, nearly 300 more digs from her freshman season (265). She averaged 4.36 digs-per-set. Schuberth recorded a single-game high of 39 digs against Morehead State in 2024. 
 
Watch Out
Sophomore Alaina Lester landed on the 2025 OVC 'Players to Watch' list after a standout freshman campaign. Lester finished with 28 solo blocks, 108 block assists, and 136.0 total blocks. In single-season program history, Lester ranks ninth, third, and fifth, respectively, in those categories. "Alaina is arguably the best blocker I have ever coached. She is a sponge when it comes to any and everything blocking related" said Yankus on Lester. 
 
The Schedule
SEMO Volleyball will play a 32-game regular season schedule including four non-conference tournaments, and an 18-match Ohio Valley Conference schedule. The Redhawks will face off with four power four conference teams, including two from the SEC and two from the BIG, in Mississippi State (Aug. 29), Indiana (Sept. 4), Iowa (Sept. 11), and Missouri (Oct. 22). Both Iowa and Missouri will each feature inside Houck Field House on their respective dates.
 
Eyeing 1,000
Lucy Arndt has had over 400+ kills in each of her first two seasons in a Redhawk uniform. After a career-high 446 kills during the 2023 season, Arndt followed that up with 437 kills in 2024. She now has 883 kills for her career and ranks 10^th in program history for career kills. She is averaging 3.48 kills-per-set and ranks sixth all-time with 2,780 total attacks. 
 
History of Defense
Libero Nina Schuberth is eyeing 1,000 digs for her career after two seasons. After 563 digs in 2024, Schuberth now ranks ninth all-time in single season digs and currently ranks 13^th in career digs (828). Schuberth was also the third-straight Redhawk to garner the Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors after last year.
 
Freshman Phenom
Outside hitter Reagan Nelson enters her first season of collegiate volleyball in 2025 after a decorated high school career at Pattonville High School (Mo.). She was a First Team All-Conference and District selection all four seasons of her high school career. During her time, Reagan became the State of Missouri's all-time kills record holder with more than 2,000 kills in her career.
 
Back For More
Sophomore outside hitter Marin Johnson returns to the Redhawks after a solid freshman campaign in 2024. Johnson finished her freshman season with 268 kills on 948 total attacks for a .152 hitting-percentage. She recorded a season-high 17 kills against Southern Indiana. She averaged 2.41 points-per-set over 127 sets played in 2024. 
 
Seasoned Vet
Redshirt senior rightside hitter Avery Torrey is in her fifth season in Cape Girardeau. Torrey has played in 226 sets and 67 matches in her five seasons and is coming off a career year in 2024. She recorded career-highs in kills (131), total attacks (431), hitting-percentage (.186), and total points (156.5). Torrey recorded a game high 10 kills against SIUE in the final series of the season last year.