'Hawks win Classic title

The Southeast Missouri State volleyball team got its season started with a bang.

Southeast bounced back from Friday's opening setback to win the championship at the Maroon Classic in Starkville, Miss.

The Redhawks began play with a 25-23, 25-18, 25-18 loss to host Mississippi State before bouncing back later Friday to beat Arkansas-Little Rock 30-28, 21-25, 15-25, 25-23, 15-12.

After Mississippi State fell to Arkansas-Little Rock, Saturday night's final tournament match between Southeast and the host squad was for the title.

Southeast emerged with the crown, downing Mississippi State 25-22, 26-24, 22-25, 25-21 to go 2-1 in the tournament.

Senior Emily Coon was named tournament MVP while fellow seniors Colleen Yarber and Julie Shives also earned all-tournament honors.

"Emily was unstoppable today. We passed well, allowing us to run our offense and get everyone involved," Southeast coach Julie Yankus said in a release. "I am very happy with how we responded to our season opener to turn it around and win the tournament."

Coon had a career-high 23 kills Saturday. She added four blocks.

Yarber had 17 kills to go along with 21 digs while Shives recorded 47 assists from her setter position and added 11 digs.

Junior Andrea Baylin came up with 18 digs, while sophomore Taylor Masterson and junior Kelsey Keeve added five blocks apiece.

Coon had 20 kills and eight blocks Friday against Arkansas-Little Rock, while

Yarber had 16 kills and 20 digs. Baylin added 17 digs and senior Berkley Idel recorded 14 digs. Shives posted 44 assists.

Yarber had seven kills and 12 digs Friday against Mississippi State. Idel added 11 digs.

Southeast returns to action next weekend with three matches at the Kansas State Invitational. The Redhawks face host Kansas State and Siena Friday, then take on SIU Carbondale Saturday.

Cross country

Southeast kicked off its season Saturday with a strong showing at the Big River Running Early Bird meet hosted by Washington University in St. Louis.

Southeast's women finished first and the men were second in the 10-school meet that featured primarily non-Division I programs.

Southeast's women scored 34 points, followed by Washington University (48) and Columbia College (61) to round out the top three.

Washington University captured the men's title with 20 points. Southeast (56) and the Washington University alumni (109) rounded out the top three.

"We achieved our goal of running a controlled race today," Southeast coach Ryan Lane said in a release. "We preformed well in the heat and I am very excited to see what we can do in the coming months at our true race distances." 

Junior Rebekah Lawson paced Southeast's women by winning the individual title. She finished the 4-kilometer race in 14 minutes, 45 seconds.

Also placing in the top 10 for the Redhawks were freshman Angela Sumner (third, 15:02), junior Mary Dohogne from Central High School (eighth, 15:29) and senior Madalyn Stichnot (ninth, 15:34).

Sophomore Laura Chavez from Central High School (13th,15:47), junior Melanie Lacey from Scott City High School (19th, 15:58) and freshman Megan Parks (24th, 16:09) rounded out Southeast's top seven runners.

Junior Craig Munie led Southeast's men with a fourth-place finish of 19:29 over the 6-kilometer course.

Rounding out Southeast's top seven runners were freshman Marc Maton (11th, 19:57), senior Charles Johnson (12th, 19:58), sophomore Shane Brown (14th, 20:02), freshman Andrew Gordon (15th, 20:10), junior Ryan Anderson (16th, 20:16) and sophomore Sean Brown (21st, 21:09). 

Southeast teams are back in action Sept. 13 at the SIU Edwardsville Cross Country Challenge.

Soccer

Southeast's rugged early-season schedule resulted in another defeat as host Missouri rolled past the Redhawks 4-0 Friday night.

The Redhawks fell to 0-3, including losses to Nebraska and Missouri-Kansas City, while the Tigers improved to 2-1.

MU, which scored twice in each half, outshot the Redhawks, 21-3 and finished with a 7-0 advantage in corner kicks.

Senior Ashton Aubuchon made five saves of the nine shots she saw while playing 71 minutes, 38 seconds in goal. Freshman Lauren Meyer made her collegiate debut and stopped both shots she faced in 18:22 in the nets.

Southeast is back in action Friday with its first home contest, at 6:30 p.m. against Arkansas State.