SEMO Men’s Volleyball hosts Midwest Plains Regional

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KFVS) – SEMO Men’s Club Volleyball was founded on February 8, 2022. Three years later to the exact date, SEMO hosted its first major volleyball tournament.

The Midwest Plains Regional volleyball tournament took over SEMO’s Rec Center on Saturday, with games from the morning all the way to the evening. 16 teams, including the host Redhawks, participated in two separate classes; SEMO finished third in the D2 Gold Bracket.

Beyond the strong result, it signaled a major achievement for the volleyball club, to go from a few members to being able to host a tournament of this scale.

Jalik Smith, vice president and co-founder of the club, spoke ahead of the tournament on the club’s founding and growth.

“I wanted to do volleyball because I was always interested in it. I used to run and track and field… I used to jump in high school. I think that volleyball takes a lot of athleticism,” Smith said. “We also came from co-ed, we had a co-ed club and we were like ‘let’s try to take it competitive because that used to be fun’ and we used to have like 50 to 60 people at a time, so we were like ‘ok, let’s make a men’s group.’”

With Smith and current club president Brandon Best, the team has gradually grown to around 16 members. And with more exposure than ever, both hope the team continues to grow in scale, even after they graduate in the spring.

Copyright 2025 KFVS. All rights reserved.