COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL: OTAHKS SLAY N. CAROLINA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Southeast Missouri State University's Krista Haukap established an OVC record for kills Thursday night.

But the biggest kill was the one collectively claimed by the Otahkians as they eliminated North Carolina from the 2000 NCAA Volleyball Tournament Thursday night in a dramatic five-set match.

The first-round victory was the first ever in four NCAA Tournaments for the Otahkians. After dropping the first two sets 13-15, 12-15, Southeast charged back with wins of 15-12, 15-6, 15-13 to capture the Pacific bracket match.

Southeast (23-8), the Ohio Valley Conference champion, will face Florida (28-4) today at 6 p.m. CDT in a second-round match. North Carolina, the ACC champion, ended its season at 26-8.

Fittingly, Haukap, the 2000 OVC Player of the Year, finished the match with her record 39th kill of the evening.

The match was just the second five-setter the Otahkians have played all season.

"I just wanted to express how extremely proud I am of my team," said Southeast coach Cindy Gannon. "I just explained to them how they have been over-achievers all year and they have never let me down."

Lea Beckemeyer also turned in a tremendous performance with 29 kills. Rachelle Knapp added 14 kills as Southeast registered a .235 kill percentage for the match. By comparison, UNC posted a .188 kill percentage.

Lori Lange led the Southeast defensive effort with 20 digs, followed by Suzanne Gundlach (19), Haukap (15) and Emily Scannell (13), who also dished out 80 assists.

Casey Simpson led North Carolina with 25 kills.

After North Carolina broke an 11-11 tie in the first set and won 15-13, Southeast appeared to grab the momentum in the second set. The Otahkians broke out to an 11-5 lead, but saw the match shift heavily in North Carolina's favor as the Tar Heels reeled off 10 of the next 11 points for a 15-12 victory and 2-0 advantage.

In the third set, Beckemeyer broke an 11-11 tie with a kill and Southeast went on to a 15-12 victory. Southeast then rode the momentum to a 15-6 victory in the fourth set behind a match-high .444 kill percentage.

Rally scoring was employed in a tight fifth set that saw neither team lead by more than two points as the score climbed to 10-10. A block and two kills then gave Southeast a 13-10 lead. With the scored 14-12, the Otahkians served for the victory but Beckemeyer's service went long. After North Carolina edged to 14-13, Haukap hammered down the winning kill.

"I think Southeast Missouri came out and played well," said North Carolina coach Joe Sagula. "They were very aggressive. Our team came out a little sluggish. We continued to play like that; usually they turn it around. It was a little disappointing, but we had a great year and we're happy with our season. We wish the best for Southeast Missouri State and the best for tomorrow night's match."

Florida, the No. 4 seed in the Pacific, swept Arkansas-Little Rock in its first-round match on Thursday.