Avery Torrey’s Journey with SEMO Volleyball

By Chandler Collins

Assistant Director for Strategic Communications

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Rightside hitter Avery Torrey is in her final season in 2025 with the SEMO Volleyball program. In five seasons, Torrey has been a part of two regular season championships, an OVC Tournament Championship, and an NCAA Tournament appearance. 

 

She has played in 241 sets, 71 matches, and has recorded 256 career kills, 103.0 total blocks, and has accumulated 313 points over five seasons. 

 

However, if you ask Torrey, she’ll tell you that the most rewarding part of her career is the friendships and memories she has created along the way. 

 

Whether it’s sharing stories in the locker room before a match or exploring the world together, Torrey knows that the relationships she’s developed with her teammates will last a lifetime.

 

Turning It Around

Torrey’s favorite memory as a SEMO volleyball player was winning the OVC regular-season title in 2024. 

 

Not only was it a major goal for the team, but the Redhawks had to overcome a slow start to the season to accomplish it. 

 

After going 4-8 in non-conference play, SEMO reeled off a 15-3 record in the OVC to take home the program’s 11^th regular season title.  Torrey was a force all season long, finishing the year with 131 kills, 156.5 points, and 44 blocks. 

 

One of her most memorable performances came in the second game of the series against Lindenwood. After dropping the first match of the series, the Redhawks needed a win to keep their conference-title hopes alive. 

 

Torrey didn’t have a great start to the match, but she turned it on in the fourth and fifth sets to help SEMO secure a 3-2 victory.

 

“I just remember telling myself we are not going to lose this game,” said Torrey. “I was swinging as aggressively as I could.”

 

Forever Grateful

Torrey admits that going through the recruiting process during COVID-19 was one of the biggest challenges of her career. 

 

In fact, she ended up committing to SEMO without ever seeing the campus or meeting the players and coaches face-to-face. 

 

However, the coaching staff made a major impact on her just over the phone, and she knew that coming to SEMO was the best decision for her. 

 

She’s incredibly grateful for the support and guidance of her coaches and teammates, and she believes that they’ve all had a major impact on her growth and development as a player and person.

 

“My coaches have been super supportive of my class schedules,” said Torrey. “As an education major, my classes were offered during practice time and no other time. My coaches and teammates supported me greatly during this time, and I could not be more thankful for that since it was very tough on me.”

 

Growing Up

Torrey’s time at SEMO has taught her that volleyball is more than just a team sport. 

 

It’s a learning tool on how to deal with different personalities and come together towards one goal. 

 

Torrey has taken this lesson to heart and applied it to her personal growth and development. 

 

She credits her teammates and coaches for helping her manage her time effectively and avoid burnout, and she believes that the support she’s received from them has made all the difference in her life.

 

“I feel that my time management skills were tested the most and learned once I reached college,” said Torrey. “Freshman year was difficult since you have to learn how to manage everything by yourself and function as an adult for the first time. With the support I had from my family, coaches, and teammates, it was a fairly easy transition since I was able to learn by example.”

 

As Torrey continues her academic and athletic journey at SEMO, she remains focused on her goals and committed to her teammates. 

 

She knows that the road ahead may not always be easy, but she’s confident that with the support of her coaches, teammates, and family, she can overcome any obstacle and achieve her dreams.

 

Favorite Practice Memory

For all athletes, the time spent on the practice court can be some of the most memorable experiences in a career. Torrey points to one from the 2024 season that made a lasting impact on her and the squad. 

 

“Last fall, we played a drill called “basketball” during practice. It’s a drill where we play two halves that are 10 minutes each. For each half, we had opportunities to score 2 or 3 points instead of just 1 if a certain position got a kill, or a certain play was performed, said Torrey. The first time we ever did this drill, we ended up having so much fun and being so competitive with each other that we ended up going into 6OT (2 mins each) because we continued to end with the score tied. We had gone about 20 minutes over what should have been the end of practice, but we didn’t care because we wanted to continue playing and fight for one of the teams to win, rather than ending in a draw and picking it up at practice the next day”. 

 

Looking Ahead

SEMO Volleyball will return to action this week at the Indiana Invitational. The Redhawks will play on Thursday, Sept. 4, against Indiana before wrapping up the tournament on Friday, Sept. 5 with a pair of matches against Western Michigan and Northern Kentucky.