The Southeast Missouri State volleyball team finished its regular season on Nov. 14 with a loss in five sets against Jacksonville State.

The Redhawks head into the Ohio Valley Conference tournament ranked with the eighth seed. They will play the host and top seed Murray State in the first round on Nov. 19.

The rankings for the OVC tournament were not decided until after the final games of the season. Murray State was the only team in the conference whose tournament ranking was locked going into the final weekend of play, with its 14-1 OVC record putting it at the top of the conference.

"That's how this conference has been since I've been here," coach Julie Yankus said. "We could have had five teams in a tie last year. [The conference] did not know who was going to be [ranked] fourth to eighth at all until the last games were played."

"I expect [the OVC tournament] overall to be very competitive," senior middle blocker Taylor Masterson said. "Everyone can win on any given day so I just expect it to be good competition and it'll be interesting to see who comes out on top."

The Redhawks finished their regular season with a 10-19 record and 6-10 in conference play.

Throughout the season, Southeast never won or lost more than four games in a row. Yankus described the season as up and down.

"We've definitely had to deal with some injuries and things like that," Yankus said. "We're still a very young team, with only two seniors this year, but we're definitely seeing some great things."

The young players for Southeast made contributions throughout the season. Freshman setter Keegan Fornoff was second on the team in set assists (399), freshman middle blocker Korrine Croft was fifth on the team in total points (96.5) and freshman outside hitter Madeline Grimm was seventh in total points (85).

"It's a hard transition to come in from high school to playing college volleyball," Masterson said about her freshman teammates. "I think they made the transition really quick, and they fit in with our values as a team and have been working hard."

The sophomores led the way on the stat sheet. Middle blocker Nzingha Clarke led the team in kills (299), blocks (116) and total points (370.5). Outside hitter Krissa Gearring was second on the team in kills (287), digs (343) and total points (325). Outside hitter Marie Less was top five on the team in kills (177), digs (309), blocks (32) and total points (220.5), and middle blocker Jessica McElderry was third on the team in blocks (47).

The upperclassmen have brought an important leadership role to this young team.

"They all bring something different to the table, which is good," Yankus said. "All five of our upperclassmen have done a good job of just holding the team accountable and bringing something different to the plate regardless of what their teammates need."

Masterson is one of those leaders. She has been limited from a knee injury this season, but that has not stopped her from being a leader by example.

"(Masterson) had to play a different position this year," junior setter Katarina Rotta said. "She's just been a really good leader and an example as far as going in and stepping into a role that she isn't comfortable with. And she had her knee injury so she did a really good job of stepping up."

Rotta is a vocal leader for the team. She leads the Redhawks in set assists this season (696) and is fourth in digs (237).

Junior right hitter Madalyn Werths and junior libero Jade Mortimer have also contributed for the Redhawks. Werths is second on the team in blocks (63), and third in kills (254) and total points (290), while Mortimer leads the team in digs (434).

Southeast now prepares for the OVC tournament at Murray State on Nov. 19.

"Going into a conference tournament, it's a whole new ball game," Yankus said. "Your previous records don't matter. It's single elimination and the winner goes to the NCAA tournament, so the competition is heightened. There's upsets all the time in the conference tournament, and we just have to go in there and hopefully get a team that matches up well with us; it's really anyone's game. The conference tournament is a really fun time of the year because anyone can win."