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DURANT, Okla. – The Southeastern Oklahoma State volleyball team begins its 2024 season in Arkadelphia, Ark., with the Reddie-Tiger Invitational on Sept. 6 and 7.
The Storm open play on Friday, Sept. 6, against Mississippi College at 10 a.m. in the Sturgis Physical Education Center (Ouachita Baptist) before heading across the street to the Duke Wells Center (Henderson State) to play St. Mary's at 3 p.m. SE concludes the tournament with two matches at the Sturgis Physical Education Center versus Missouri S&T at 10 a.m. and Montevallo at 3:30 p.m.
All matches will have live stats available, and live video for the contest against St. Mary's will be provided by Henderson State.
STORM WATCH
Southeastern Oklahoma State enters 2024 off the back of a 12-17 campaign in 2023, in which the Storm finished 7-9 in conference matches, earning the eighth seed at the GAC Tournament. SE returns ten players from last season, including the reigning GAC Player of the Year,
D'Nari Mills, and Second Team All-GAC recipient
Ruthie Forson.
Mills put together an impressive 2023, leading the GAC with 545 kills and ranking in the top 10 across all Division II in both kills and kills per set (4.75). The First Team All-GAC recipient was the first player for Southeastern to reach 500 kills in a season since 2011 when Lunden Azuarar tallied 602 kills that year. Joining Mills in attack,
Noelia Rocha and
Faith Kruebbe return after providing 243 and 135 kills last year, respectively.
Quarterbacking the attack, setter
Ruthie Forson is back for her fifth season with the blue-and-gold. The Denton, Texas native led the squad with 788 assists and ranked second in the GAC with 9.17 assists per set. When Forson was not pulling the strings in attack, she slammed down 183 kills on a .359 attack percentage and recorded 166 digs on her way to four triple-doubles. Forson ranks third all-time in career assists with 2428, while Mills is 11
th in kills with 847.
The Storm saw one of their most productive offensive seasons in program history, recording 1444 total kills, 12.56 kills per set and 15.33 points per set, which all rank inside the top ten in single-season records. Mills tallied the fourth most points in an individual year by an SE player, notching a GAC-best 591.5 points, and ranked seventh nationally across all Division II with 5.14 points per set.
Helping slow down opposing attacks will be middle blocker
Michera Moffett and libero
Amaya Constantino. Moffett provided a strong presence at the net in 2023, recording 51.0 total blocks, including a team-high 45.0 solo denials, while adding 107 kills to her totals. On the back row, Constantino led the Storm with 399 digs and carried a .944 receiving average.
This weekend's matches will feature three first-time meetings when the Storm face Mississippi College, Missouri S&T and Montevallo. St. Mary's is the only familiar foe at the Reddie-Tiger Invitational for SE, as the two sides meet for the third time. The Rattlers lead the head-to-head series 2-1 following a 3-0 win over SE in 2022.
PREVIEWING MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE
The Choctaws were picked fourth in the Gulf South Conference Preseason Poll, receiving one first-place nod after finishing 13-15 overall and 10-6 in league matches last year. MC is under new leadership in 2024, as first-year head coach Bentley Odom is set to guide the Choctaws. Mississippi College returns 11 players from last season, including kills leader Lydia Paulette, who had 407 kills and a team-high 41 service aces.
PREVIEWING ST. MARY's
StMU comes into 2024 off the back of a 12-15 season last year and was picked tied for ninth in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll. The Rattlers return all six starters from 2023, including digs (462) and kills (233) leaders Alyssa Koehl and Landri Withers, respectively. St. Mary's roster features 11 upperclassmen, led by four seniors and a fifth-year player.
PREVIEWING MISSOURI S&T
Missouri S&T enters 2024 under the new guidance of first-year head coach Jacquie Cason. Head coach Cason inherits a roster with three members from last year's squad that made the NCAA Tournament after going 18-11 overall. The Miners were picked seventh in the GLVC Preseason Poll, with their leader in assists (667) back in Annie Arand. Jordan Burton is the most productive attacker returning for S&T after a 349-kill season in 2023.
PREVIEWING MONTEVALLO
The Falcons made it to the semifinals of the GSC Tournament last year following a 13-18 overall season and a 10-6 conference mark. Montevallo enters the new season picked fifth in the GSC Preseason Poll with a handful of returners back. The Falcons also had three freshmen land on the GSC Newcomer Watchlist in Nikol Anotva, Ava Wind and Blakeley Robbins.
