Former Otahkian coach brings OVC's top team to town

Dave Schwepker is returning to Southeast Missouri State University tonight with a volleyball team that could go down as among the best ever at Murray State.

Southeast graduate and former Otahkian assistant coach Schwepker brings his high-flying Racers to Houck Field House for a 7 p.m. Ohio Valley Conference match.

The Racers have never won an OVC regular-season championship but they lead the league at 8-0 and are 14-4 overall, including a school-record 14-match winning streak.

"We're pretty pumped up around here," said Schwepker, in his sixth season as the Racers' coach. "So far I guess it's the best season Murray has ever had at this point, and now we have to see how it's going to play out. We'd love to win our first OVC title."

Schwepker, a 1987 Southeast graduate, was an assistant with the Otahkians under Cindy Gannon from 1991 through 1994, after which he left to take over Tennessee State's program.

Following three years at Tennessee State, Schwepker went to Murray State. His best previous season with the Racers was in 1999, when they went 19-10 and finished fourth in the OVC.

Last year, Murray State won 11 of its last 15 matches to go 12-12, and the Racers were a fourth-place 10-6 in the OVC to set the stage for this season. They tied for first with Southeast in the league's preseason coaches' poll.

"We had high hopes for this year and hopefully we can keep it going," Schwepker said.

With no seniors, and their top players being sophomores Paige Sun, Nikki Wong and Abbi Gui, it appears that the Racers could be an OVC power for at least the next few years.

Murray State also has a local flavor. St. Vincent High School graduate Danielle Sutterer, who played the past two years at Shawnee (Ill.) Community College, has been solid in her rookie season with the Racers and Schwepker said she will start tonight.

Freshman Holly Jansen, a former standout at Leopold High School, has seen limited action this year while another freshman, Central High School product Vicki Wilson, is redshirting.

Schwepker grew up in St. Charles, Mo., where he graduated from high school, but he considers Cape Girardeau to be his home town. Schwepker's family moved to Cape Girardeau following his freshman year at Southeast and has remained here.

"Cape is where home is. We're there all the time," said Schwepker, who is married and has two young children. "In fact, the team is going to mom's house to have our pre-game dinner."

Schwepker said he has also remained close with Gannon, the Otahkians' veteran coach whose team has dominated the OVC since joining the conference in 1991 but has not won a title since 2000 and is struggling this year. Southeast is 6-16 overall and a sixth-place 5-4 in the 11-team league.

Despite the Otahkians' troubles, Schwepker doesn't expect an easy time tonight. In fact, considering he has never beaten his former boss, he would take any kind of win.

"It's a great rivalry and I'm still good friends with Cindy," Schwepker said. "So far I've never beaten them. We have had some close matches, but we've always come up short. I don't know if it's a hex or what, but we'll see what happens.

Gannon knows Southeast enters tonight's match as a rare underdog against her good friend. But she's not counting the Otahkians out.

"I'm still very close with Dave and he really has them rolling," Gannon said. "It's always a big rivalry and it always brings a lot of local interest. I think you can throw the records out when these teams play.

"My team really wants this one and I think it'll be a good match."