Missouri Challenge (Match 10-12)
 
Tournament Information: 
Date: Friday, September 19 – Saturday, September 20
Times: 10 a.m. (Fri.) | 4 p.m. (Fri.) | 3 p.m. (Sat.)
Location: St. Louis, Mo. 
Venue: Chaifitz Pavilion 
Opponents: Kansas City (Fri.) | Missouri State (Fri.) | Saint Louis (Sat.)
 
Head Coaches: 
SEMO: Julie Yankus (233-211 | 15^th Season)
Kansas City: Christi Posey (15^th Season)
Missouri State: Steve McRoberts (Sixth Season)
Saint Louis: Andrea Beaty-Cain (Third Season)
 
Follow the Redhawks: 
X: @SEMOvb 
Live Stats: vs. Kansas City | vs. Missouri State | vs. Saint Louis
Watch: vs. Saint Louis (Sat. Only)
 
Game Notes (PDF)
Media Guide (PDF)
 
Volleyball Wraps Up Non-Conference Play at Missouri Challenge Friday & Saturday
Southeast Missouri Volleyball (5-4) will take on three opponents from the state of Missouri this weekend at the 'Missouri Challenge' hosted by Saint Louis University. The Redhawks will begin the challenge with two matches on Friday, against Kansas City (1-9) and Missouri State (4-4), before concluding the tournament on Saturday afternoon against the host, Saint Louis (5-3). 
 
Series History
Kansas City
The Redhawks and Roos will matchup for the 13^th time on the volleyball court to begin the Missouri Challenge at 10 a.m. on Friday morning. The two last met back in the 2023 season in Kansas City, Mo. The Redhawks won the match in five sets, 3-2, and now hold an 8-4 overall record against KC. 
 
Missouri State
SEMO Volleyball will match up with Missouri State in the second match of the challenge for the Redhawks, at 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon. The meeting marks the second-straight matchup between the two schools after the two faced off in Carbondale, Ill. a season ago in a match that MSU won, 3-2. The Redhawks trail in the series by a record of 2-12. 
 
Saint Louis
Saturday's tournament finale between SEMO and SLU will mark the third-straight season with a matchup between the two with the last two seasons split at 1-1. The Redhawks won the match in four sets in 2023, before SLU won in four sets a season ago. Overall, Saint Louis holds a 25-18 series advantage, but SEMO has won two-of-the-last-three in the series. 
 
All-Tournament Performance
Following the 2025 SEMO invitational last weekend, the Redhawks landed two players on the all-tournament list in outside hitters Lucy Arndt & Marin Johnson. The outside duo combined for 61 kills, led by Arndt who finished with 35. SEMO finished the tournament with a 2-1 record, beating B1G member Iowa (9/11) & former OVC-rival Murray State (9/13). 
 
Big Win
The Redhawks took down Big 10 Conference member Iowa to begin the 2025 SEMO Invitational last weekend. This season, the Redhawks have faced off with two B1G opponents and have a 1-1 overall record against the P4. SEMO beat Iowa in five sets, 3-2, and now have a 2-0 record against the Hawkeyes in program history. 
 
Arndt Tracker
Junior Lucy Arndt is narrowing in on 1,000 kills early on this season. The outside hitter from Freeport, Ill. began the season with 883 career kills. This season, Arndt has accumulated 108 kills already bringing her career total to 991. She needs just nine kills to crack the 1,000 mark for her career. 
 
Middle Defense
Kara Oxenknecht has made an immediate impact after transferring in this spring from Northern Iowa in the middle of the court for the Redhawks. She has started in seven-of-SEMO's-nine games thus far and has recorded three or more kills in every single match. She has also recorded a block in every match this year but one, bringing her total to 20.0 blocks on the season which is the most on the team. 
 
The Setters
The setting duo of Megan Holder and Alandry Below has been incredibly consistent for the Redhawks through the first nine matches of the season. The duo has recorded 169 and 144 assists, respectively, making up for 313 of SEMO's 403 assists. Holder is averaging 4.97 assists-per-set, with Below following just behind at 4.50. The Redhawks are hitting .225 as a team. 
 
Johnson Swings
Sophomore Marin Johnson has had a great start to her second season in a Redhawk uniform. The Wheaton, Illinois-native has played in 28-of-SEMO's-34 sets and has recorded 71 kills on the season. She has 191 total attacks and is hitting .241 on the season, averaging 2.54 kills-per-set. She has accumulated 75.5 points on the year which marks her third on the team behind Katy St. John (88.0) and Lucy Arndt (125.0).
 
Nina the Great
Junior libero Nina Schuberth is among the best in the Ohio Valley Conference in service aces. Schuberth, who is the program's all-time single season leader in aces, has dialed up 15 service aces this season which ranks her third in the OVC. She is averaging 0.44 aces-per-set. 
 
High Level
Alaina Lester is among the conference's best when it comes to hitting-percentage. The sophomore has played in 22 sets this season and has accumulated 35 kills with just six errors for a .392 hitting-percentage. She ranks second in the OVC after nine games and was the Redhawks' preseason 'Player to Watch'. 
 
Double Double
Lucy Arndt leads the Redhawks with four double doubles on the season, including a season-high 19 kills and 15 digs against Northern Kentucky (9/5) earlier this year. Sophomore Megan Holder follows behind her with two double doubles with a season-high 13 digs and 22 assists against North Alabama (8/30). 
 
Team Offense
Through nine games, the Redhawks have put together impressive offensive numbers as a team. On 1,233 total attacks, SEMO is hitting .225 as a club with 434 kills and just 156 errors. The Redhawks are averaging 12.76 kills-per-set. The setters have dished out 403 assists on 1,290 attempts and are averaging 11.85 assists-per-set.