Childhood best friends to college teammates: Lucy Arndt and Megan Holder

SEMO volleyball players Lucy Arndt and Megan Holder share a bond that runs far deeper than the volleyball court - the two have been best friends since childhood.

The 2024 season marks freshman setter Megan Holder’s first year with the Redhawks where she has quickly made her mark as the team’s primary setter. Holder is currently leading the team in assists with 398 assists.

Of those assists, 219 of those are passes to sophomore hitter and childhood best friend Lucy Arndt, who leads the team in kills and receptions.

Their chemistry, however, isn’t limited to the court. Having grown up together, the pair’s connection stems from a lifelong friendship.

“We live about five minutes apart. We've been best friends since grade school. We have many, many pictures together and our parents have been best friends since college,” Holder said.

Holder credits Arndt with influencing her decision to attend SEMO.

“I mean, of course we have Lucy here. She's one of my hometown best friends, so I think that kind of put SEMO in my vision, but it wasn't always that case. I definitely looked at other options before, but then ultimately I came here for a visit, and I was like, this is the place to be,” Holder said.

Their years of playing together have created an undeniable connection on the court, helping them lead the Redhawks in their respective roles. Head Coach Julie Yankus said their history gives them an edge.

“They know how to connect. Lucy knows what to expect out of Megan's sets. She's played with her for years, I think that's really helpful. They obviously trust each other on the court a lot as well. Having played for years they know if they're about to cross defensively, they know who's gonna pick that ball up and who's going to not get it. They have that understanding, and that just comes with years of playing together,” Yankus said.

Yankus also noted that since joining the team, Holder’s growth since joining the team, highlighting her impact on all aspects of the game.

“I think she's really grown defensively. She makes some great defensive plays that we don't think will get up. She takes care of it, gets it up in a good quality position for us to hopefully get a transition kill. And Megan's serve has been great, too,” Yankus said.

Yankus also acknowledged Arndt’s evolution as well, saying that she leads the team not only in statistics, but also in work ethic as well.

“She's [Ardnt] someone that's willing to work as hard as she can to try to connect and lead this program. She's really stepped up with her first contact, her defense, her passing has been very helpful for us… she's continued to work against a double block and trying to figure out how she can find ways to score when she's got two blockers in front of her every time. She's always got a good mentality. She's always putting in the work trying to figure out, how can I score, how can I help my team,” Yankus said.

Both Holder and Arndt are determined to improve as the season progresses.

“Yeah, I just want to be growing to be a leader down the road, but I just want to keep putting the team in a good position, every single game, I practice all the time so I just hope that we have a good rest of the season, and hopefully I'm a big contributor in that,” Holder said.

“My goals are to stop making so many errors and get above a .250 percentage, and keep trying to get player of the game,” Arndt said.

The Redhawks’ next game is against Eastern Illinois University on Thursday, Oct. 24, at 6 p.m. in Cape Girardeau.