COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL: OTAHKS ROLL INTO OVC TITLE MATCH

It's one down, and one to go for the Southeast Missouri State Otahkian volleyball team as they seek to three-peat as champions of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

Top-seed Southeast swept fourth-seed Austin Peay in a semifinal matchup 15-5, 15-6 and 16-14 at Houck Field House on Friday night.

"The semifinal match is always the toughest," said Southeast coach Cindy Gannon, "because you want to win so you can, obviously, get to the finals and a lot of times it's difficult because teams overlook the semifinal."

Southeast (21-8) will face second-seed Tennessee-Martin (21-5) in today's championship match at 2 p.m. with the winner gaining an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee-Martin advanced with a 15-13, 13-15, 15-13, 15-9 victory over Eastern Illinois.

Combining power and finesse in the opening game, the Otahkians were not looking past the Lady Governors.

The two teams traded sideouts early and often with the score tied at 2, before Southeast went on one of its patented runs to extend the lead to 10-2. Austin Peay, attempting to slow Southeast's momentum, called two timeouts during the run to no avail.

After the first timeout, senior middle blocker Rachelle Knapp made two soft kills for points to keep the rally alive. Southeast closed the match out at 15-5.

The second set saw the Lady Govs get their first lead of the night at 4-1. Southeast answered with 11 straight points to go up 12-4, before taking the game at 15-6.

During the exciting third set, Southeast's all-time kill leader Krista Haukap notched No. 2,000. At the time, the Otahkians enjoyed a comfortable 10-5 lead and looked poised to close out the match.

But Austin Peay didn't play along, as it battled back to take the lead at 14-12.

"At some point, I think we were thinking Austin Peay was going to pack up and go home, but they didn't," said Gannon.

However, the Otahkians, displaying poise and confidence, regrouped to finish off the Lady Governors 16-14.

Fittingly, a Haukap kill provided the winning point.

The senior triumvirate of Lea Beckemeyer, Haukap and Knapp again led the Otahkians. Haukap had 25 kills and nine digs, while Beckemeyer nailed 23 kills with six digs. Knapp contributed 10 kills and seven digs. Freshman setter Emily Scannell recorded 54 helpers.

Gannon, whose team finished the regular season undefeated at 16-0, expects a tough match today in Tennessee-Martin, which finished second in the league standings.

"They're (Tennessee-Martin) going to be ready to play, they're going to play hard and they're not going to quit," said Gannon. "We need to focus in, contain their middle, and we've got to block better."