NASHVILLE – This weekend, the Tennessee State University Tigers volleyball team will be on the hunt to accomplish two things. One, they are searching for their first home win of the season. The second would be to break a three-game losing streak when they take on the Southeast Missouri State (SEMO) University Redhawks (13-4, 5-1 OVC) in Ohio Valley Conference action from Kean Hall.

TSU (2-13, 2-3 OVC) opened the season by losing all ten pre-conference games. They started OVC play with two wins at Tennessee Tech. Since then, they have dropped two home games to Southern Indiana University and a road game to UT Martin. Their game Friday will be the first since the October 3 loss to Martin. Head coach Donika Sutton hopes the time off will be the remedy to jumpstart her team.

"It is a well-timed break for us," said Sutton. "After the tough non-conference schedule, jumping right into OVC play was tough. We had time to adjust a couple of things. We will see how it goes."

The Redhawks have won 10 of their last 11 matches, with their only loss coming in a five-set thriller at SIUE. SEMO holds a 22-8 edge over TSU in all-time matches. Last season, the Tigers defeated the Redhawks in the OVC Championship Game after losing both matches in the regular season.

Both teams have played Jackson State and UT Martin as common opponents. The Tigers are 0-2, while SEMO is 2-1, with both wins coming against Martin.
 
Match 16: SEMO (13-4, 5-1 OVC) at TSU (2-13, 2-3 OVC)
Date/Time: Friday, October 13 | 6 p.m. (CST)
Watch Southeast Missouri State vs. Tennessee State 10/13/23 - NCAA Women's Volleyball Live Stream on Watch ESPN
Live Stats: https://tsutigers.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Location: | Kean Hall, Nashville
 
Match 17: SEMO (13-4, 5-1 OVC) at TSU (2-13, 2-3 OVC)
Date/Time: Saturday, October 14 | Noon (CST)
Watch Southeast Missouri State vs. Tennessee State 10/14/23 - NCAA Women's Volleyball Live Stream on Watch ESPN
Live Stats: https://tsutigers.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Location: | Kean Hall, Nashville
 
Quick Hits:
 
Volleyball's Homecoming Honor
Head Coach Donika Sutton and the 2022 OVC Champion Volleyball Team will be honored at the Homecoming Breakfast of Champions Breakfast on Friday morning of Homecoming Week.
 
Motivated Tigers
Sutton loves to motivate her players. Last season, her team was picked to finish last by her conference counterparts. That prediction inspired the Tennessee State Tiger volleyball team to win the OVC tournament, earning an automatic berth in the NCAA. Despite their strong finish, the Tigers are once again motivated. They are picked to finish sixth out of the 11 conference teams.

Freshmen Digging
Three of the five leaders in digs for the Tigers are freshmen. Celianiz Cabranes leads the team with 272. Jadyn Webb is second with 85, and Alanys Otero is fourth with 72. The trio's efforts are needed while junior libero Hadley Pride recovers from injury.
 
 
Six Million Dollar Man Recruiting
After playing nationally ranked Stanford University in the regular season and Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament, Sutton vowed to add size and speed to her recruitment strategy. With the addition of tall and athletic transfers Erica Calderone (Indian Hills Community College), Jayla Holcombe (Murray State), and Hennesys Lalane (Indian Hills CC), there are now eight players at her disposal who are listed at 6'0 and above.

Defense Wins Championships
Last season, the Tigers used an outstanding defense to fuel their run to the OVC championship. TSU led the OVC in opponent-hitting percentage (.172) and blocks per set (2.45) while also finishing as the only team in the conference to have over 300 total blocks with 326, placing them second in the country. Senior Kennedy Davis (138) and sophomore Gabrielle Johnson (129) had over 100 total blocks, with Davis leading the OVC in that category. Davis is the lone Tiger to make the OVC preseason all-conference team.
 
The Prides of the Nashville Area
Junior libero Hadley Pride has some big shoes to fill in trying to replace the OVC all-time leader in digs, Gina Rivera-Ortiz. Pride, a graduate of Hillsboro High School in Nashville, and Storm White, who hails from Smyrna, Tennessee, are the only Nashville area players on the roster.

International Cuisine
Over the years, the Tigers have relied on an international approach to recruiting, so much that it isn't foreign (see what I did there) to hear music from other countries during pregame warmups. Grad student Aleksandra Rojecka (Poland) and senior Alondra Santana-Rodriguez (Puerto Rico) are holdovers from last year's team. Like Santana-Rodriguez, freshman duo Celianiz Cabranes and Alanys Otero are from Puerto Rico. Erica Calderone and Hennesys Lalane come to Big Blue Country from the Dominican Republic. Freshman Jadyn Webb has international experience playing for the US Virgin Islands.
 
THE TIGERS AT A GLANCE

• The Tigers are the defending OVC Tournament champions.
• TSU leads the OVC in blocks.
• Senior Kennedy Davis was the lone Tiger named to the Preseason All-OVC Team. She is tied for the most total blocks in the OVC.
• Davis and Gabrielle Johnson are tied for third in the OVC in blocks per set with 1.03.
• Celestial Miller is creeping up the leader board in kills for the Tigers. Her 136 is ten behind Jayla Holcombe.
• Hennesys Lalane has recorded double-doubles in three of the last four games. Against Martin, Alanys Otero stepped in for Lalane and recorded 40 assists and ten digs.

 
 
SCOUTING THE SEMO REDHAWKS:

• SEMO was picked to finish first in the OVC Preseason.
• Head coach Julie Yankus recorded her 200^th career victory this past Saturday against Martin.
• Graduate students Tara Beilsmith and Zoey Beasley were named to the 2023 All-OVC Preseason team.
• SEMO has earned 11 OVC Player of the Week honors this season. Lucy Arndt has been named Freshman of the Week six times, with Beilsmith (Defensive) and Izzy Lukens (Setter) being named three times apiece.
• Beilsmith leads the OVC in digs (386) and digs per set (5.94).

 
Up Next:
The Tigers will finish their home stand with a match against UT Martin on October 17 at 6 p.m.