2009 volleyball team predicted to finish third in the OVC

The 2009 Southeast Missouri State volleyball team has been predicted to finish third in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Murray State is the OVC favorite according to the preseason poll released Tuesday. Voting was done by the league's coaches and sports information directors.

Southeast received 125 points and two first-place votes. Murray State received 142 points and nine first-place votes, followed by Morehead State with 136 points and five first-place votes.

Austin Peay and Tennessee Tech matched Southeast with two first-place votes each as they were picked fourth and fifth, respectively.

Jacksonville State, Tennessee-Martin, Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee State and Eastern Illinois rounded out the predicted order of finish for the 10-team conference.

"It's nice to be recognized by fellow coaches in the conference by being picked third," Southeast coach Renata (Nowacki) Heard said in a release. "We still know that this is a preseason poll and we need to work hard every day so that we are prepared to earn a spot in the OVC tournament."

The Redhawks went 13-14 overall last year and finished fifth in the OVC at 11-7. The previous year they tied for the OVC regular-season title.

Southeast had three players earn all-OVC preseason honors, with junior outside hitter Claire Keaton making the first team.

Senior outside hitter Karleigh DeLong and senior setter Sarah Barth were voted to the second team.

Keaton made second-team all-OVC last season after leading the Redhawks in kills (313) while ranking eighth in the OVC in kills per game. She was also second on the squad in digs (246).

DeLong, first-team all-OVC as a sophomore in 2007, was limited to 14 matches last season due to an injury. She still ranked second on the Redhawks in kills per game.

Barth has led the Redhawks in assists the past two seasons. Last year she ranked second in the OVC in assists per match, finishing with 785 on the year.

"We're really hoping for a big season and a lot of leadership from all three of them," Heard said. "This shows that the people in our conference know how hard they have worked in the past and what they're capable of on the court."

Southeast returns three full-time starters from a year ago and four other players who started at least five matches, along with record-setting senior libero Molly Davis.

The Redhawks open the season Aug. 28 at the Memphis Invitational.

Softball adds assistant

Southeast softball coach Lana Richmond recently announced the hiring of Samantha Buckner as an assistant.

Buckner is a former starting first baseman at Arkansas, where she served as team captain her senior season in 2008.

Buckner -- who has worked as an assistant coach for the Clearwater Bullets, a summer team based in Clearwater, Fla. -- joins fellow assistant Jeff Dabney to round out Southeast's coaching staff.

-- From staff reports