OTAHKIANS AVENGE LONE OVC LOSS TO AUSTIN PEAY

Southeast Missouri State Universitys volleyball team didn't dominate Tuesday night.

According to Otahkian coach Cindy Gannon, the team looked sluggish and slow.

Despite all that, the Otahks did what no other team has done to Austin Peay this season: the Otahks stuck the Lady Governors with a three-set loss.

Southeast avenged its only Ohio Valley Conference loss Tuesday night, defeating OVC-title contender Austin Peay 15-7, 15-13 and 15-12 at Houck Field House.

The win protected Southeasts sole possession of first place, extending its record to 18-5 overall and 9-1 in the OVC. Austin Peay dropped to 17-8 and 10-3.

Austin Peay slipped into third place behind Eastern Illinois which is 9-2 in the conference.

On Sept. 21, the Lady Govs beat Southeast three sets to one, so Southeast had revenge on its mind."I thought we were a little slow," Gannon said. "I thought we could've played better, but I think our emotions had something to do with that. We wanted to make up for that loss earlier this year."Although Southeast won in three sets, it was by no means an easy win.

After the first set, the most consecutive points by any one server was three."They play great defense," Gannon said. "They play the best defense that we've seen in a while and probably the best defense that we'll face in the OVC. I'm glad they gave us a good challenge. We needed that right now."The win was Southeast's 11th straight and it snapped Austin Peay's four-game winning streak. Since opening the season with four straight losses, Southeast has won 18 of its last 19 matches.

The Otahkians, despite an amazing amount of sideouts -- particularly in the third set -- stayed patient and within the framework of the team Tuesday night.

Southeast's balance was its strength as it had four players with at least 11 kills.

Krista Haukap led the Otahkians with 16 kills, followed by Angie Aschoff with 13, Lea Beckemeyer -- the OVC Player of the Week -- with 12, and Rachelle Knapp with 11.

Amy Henken had 54 assists and led the team with 19 digs. Haukap and Knapp each had four blocks to combine for the same amount that Austin Peay had as a team.

Southeast will face one of its toughest tests of the year tonight when it hosts Arkansas at 6 p.m. at Houck Field House, where Southeast is 5-0 this season.

Arkansas is ranked 22nd in the nation."We feel we have something to prove," Gannon said. "We haven't got a lot of national attention and if we beat Arkansas, they would have to start thinking about us in the national rankings."