Arndt, SEMO volleyball capture OVC regular-season title

The last point of the game happened in slow motion for Lucy Arndt and her teammates.

The serve, the back-and-forth volley, Arndt’s dig rainbowing over the net and an SIU-Edwardsville attack error — and then the realization the Redhawks had won spreading across their faces before they all celebrated and sent Houck Field House into a frenzy.

Southeast Missouri State volleyball has won the 2024 Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship.

“I’m just so proud of this team,” Arndt said after SEMO swept SIUE 25-18, 25-19, 25-23 on Wednesday night in the regular-season finale. “We struggled a little bit in the beginning, so to come out and prove everyone wrong is amazing. We have a lot of fifth-years, so to be able to win this is unbelievable.”

Arndt is thriving and is one of the biggest reasons SEMO (18-12) sits atop the conference and will enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed.

A 5-foot-11 sophomore from Freeport, Illinois, Arndt is coming off a rookie season in which she was named the OVC Freshman of the Year and a first-team all-OVC selection. She also is a strong candidate for the conference Player of the Year honor. The outside hitter is now in the midst of another decorated campaign, including team highs in kills (390), kills per set (3.31) and points (450.5).

SEMO sophomore Lucy Arndt gets set to serve the ball against SIUE on Wednesday, Nov. 20.Kaiden Karper ~ kkarper@semoball.com

“We just have really good chemistry,” said Arndt, who is on a SEMO team that features 12 newcomers. “Even though we have so many new people, we just clicked right away. So, just having that trust in the team is amazing. That really helps us being able to know each other and know what we can do.”

Julie Yankus, in her 14th year as head coach, was on the sideline savoring every last moment once the final whistle blew. It’s her second time leading the Redhawks to an OVC regular-season title, and she did it with a group of girls she describes as “unique, special and dedicated.

“It's honestly been a whirlwind of a season. To see where we came from the very first weekend of the season and how much we struggled and just tried to figure out what was the right mix. We have 12 new players on this team, so to go and be predicted to finish first and do that with 12 new people on the team is pretty amazing.”

The third set of SEMO’s triumph against SIUE (12-17) was worth the price of admission. The Redhawks trailed 14-13 midway through the frame.

But SEMO would not be denied.

“It's their love for each other and their love for the program,” Yankus said. “They're willing to put the team first. There's not a selfish person on this team and you're only as strong as your weakest link. So, I think that's been a huge part of how we've been able to be so resilient.”

Graduate outside hitter Abby Johnson was a key factor in the win, tallying a game-high 12 kills and hitting at a sharp .300 clip. With the match knotted at 22 in the final set, the Illinois native notched a kill and a huge solo block in back-to-back serves to make it match point.

Star libero Nina Schuberth, who has been named the OVC Defensive Player of the Week four times this season, extended her 19-match streak of double-digit digs after recording a game-high 20 on the night.

The SEMO volleyball team dogpiles on the court to celebrate their OVC Regular Season Championship on Wednesday, Nov. 20.Kaiden Karper ~ kkarper@semoball.com

For Yankus, seeing Arndt experience this moment after being one of SEMO’s most coveted high school prospects in recent times is something she envisioned when she recruited her.

“Lucy is just somebody that wants to learn and grow,” Yankus said. “It's never good enough. And I mean that in a good way. Like, she always wants to get better. She can get 20 kills in a match and hit .300 and she's still like, ‘Well, how can I do this?’ Or, ‘How can I pass better?’ She wants to do everything really well. Her teammates all love her. She's supportive of all of them and she's their biggest cheerleader. So, you cheer for those kind of players that are selfless, dedicated, fun and nice, and loving of their teammates. She's unique in a lot of ways.”

Now it's time for the next step.

The top-seeded Redhawks will return to their home court for the first round of the OVC Tournament at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24, against No. 8 Tennessee State. Arndt said she and her teammates look forward to competing with a target on their backs.

“We know everyone's going to want to come and beat us,” she said. “I think that's really going to help us. And just staying calm and just really playing our game is going to help us when everyone's coming after us.”