Southeast Missouri State volleyball team's season ends in OVC tourney semifinals

Southeast Missouri State's impressive volleyball season under first-year coach Julie Folliard ended Friday night.

Top-seeded Morehead State beat fourth-seeded Southeast in the semifinals of the six-team Ohio Valley Conference tournament in Morehead, Ky.

Morehead, the OVC regular-season champion and tournament host, posted a 25-21, 25-21, 25-15 victory. The Eagles won all three meetings against Southeast this year.

Sophomore Emily Coon led the Redhawks with 10 kills. Sophomore Berkley Idel recorded 13 digs, while sophomore Colleen Yarber added eight digs and six kills.

The Redhawks posted some notable accomplishments this season after Folliard took over a struggling program.

Southeast made the OVC tournament for the first time since 2008, and Thursday's opening-round win over Eastern Kentucky marked the Redhawks' first OVC tournament victory since 2006.

The Redhawks finished with a 14-19 record, including an 11-9 OVC mark after they went 4-14 in league play last year. Southeast doubled its overall win total from 2010.

"Everybody but one team's season ends with a loss," Folliard said. "I'm proud of our team and where we came from this season, and the future is bright for Southeast volleyball."

Coon, who had a career-high 18 kills against Eastern Kentucky, was named to the all-tournament team. She also was Southeast's lone all-OVC representative.

Morehead (26-6) went on to beat third-seeded Tennessee-Martin 25-15, 25-23, 26-24 in Saturday's championship match.

The Eagles earn the OVC's automatic NCAA tournament berth.

Early signing

Folliard landed one player during the NCAA's recent early signing period.

Halle Brown, a senior middle blocker at the Porter Gaud School in Charleston, S.C., was a three-year starter who led her team to back-to-back state titles in her junior and senior seasons.

Brown recorded 710 kills and 182 blocks during her high school career. The all-region selection had a career-high 21 kills in the 2010 state title match.

"Halle is a very athletic and dynamic player that can handle the middle hitter position very well because of her vertical leap ability and her quickness," Folliard said. "We feel that she can make an immediate impact in our program."