Southeast hires Barke as compliance director

Brady Barke is the new assistant director of athletics for compliance at Southeast Missouri State.

Barke, who began his duties Monday, has a law degree from Southern Illinois-Carbondale, where he worked in the compliance department during the 2007-2008 academic year.

Barke also has been a governance intern with the NCAA. He replaces Jayson Santos, who recently left Southeast to accept a similar position at Texas State.

"I am very pleased to be able to add Barke to our staff at Southeast," Southeast interim director of athletics Cindy Gannon said in a release. "His background in compliance at SIU and his work at the NCAA gives him experience that will be a big asset for our program."

Barke, a St. Louis native, was an all-conference basketball player at Division III Webster University in St. Louis.

Volleyball signs four

Southeast volleyball coach Renata Nowacki announced the signing of four players -- all high school seniors -- during the early signing period.

Karlee Lursen is an outside hitter from Apple Valley, Minn.; Brittney Kalinoski is an outside hitter from Overland Park, Kan.; Angela Cichelero is a setter from Ursuline Academy in St. Louis; and Samantha Lowman is a libero from Lincoln, Ill.

"We are welcoming some very talented athletes and great people into our program," Nowacki said in a release. "They are all competitors who will make us better the second they step on the floor."

Softball signs player

Southeast softball coach Lana Richmond announced the signing of Marisa Sanders during the early signing period.

Sanders, a senior at St. Clair (Mo.) High School, has 22 career home runs and was named her team's most valuable hitter all four seasons.

Sanders batted .625 with 34 RBIs this fall. She is projected to play first base at Southeast.

Volleyball honor

Southeast junior Sarah Barth is the Ohio Valley Conference co-setter of the week for volleyball.

In two matches last week, Barth recorded 80 assists, 25 digs and 11 kills to help the Redhawks reach their 18th straight OVC tournament.

Barth ranks second in the OVC in assists with an average of 9.77 per game. In OVC play, she averages 10.4 assists per game.

Southeast, the No. 5 seed for the six-team conference tournament in Cookeville, Tenn., plays No. 4 Austin Peay at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

-- From staff reports