NEW, IMPROVED TIGERS: UNBEATEN MISSOURI SWEEPS ASIDE SOUTHEAST

The University of Missouri volleyball team has had seven straight losing seasons and the Tigers went just 10-21 last year.

But the Tigers are a new-look outfit this year -- as Southeast Missouri State University learned up close and personal Monday night.

Southeast, playing its first home match of the season -- and its lone contest of the year at the Show Me Center -- was handed a 15-5, 15-6, 15-6 defeat by Missouri, which is off to a 9-0 start under first-year coach Susan Kreklow.

"They (the Tigers) have struggled in the past, but we couldn't be more happy at this point in the season," said Kreklow, who led Columbia College to NAIA national championships in 1998 and 1999 before taking over the Missouri program. "There are a lot of factors involved (in the strong start this year), but we're playing well."

Last year, Southeast beat Missouri in three games. Said Kreklow, whose husband Wayne serves as associate head coach, "They (her players) remember that. They reminded us of that. But Southeast has a nice team. It had to be a good performance for us to win tonight."

Otahkian coach Cindy Gannon said the coaching change has made all the difference in the world for the Tigers.

"They have a fabulous coaching staff," she said. "Their team is very strong, one of the best we've played."

The Otahkians, who have won seven of nine Ohio Valley Conference titles since they joined the league, fell to 1-6, but Gannon is not overly concerned. She purposely has her team play a brutal early-season schedule in order to prepare for OVC competition.

Last year, for instance, the Otahkians started out 0-5 but still rolled to OVC regular-season and tournament titles to qualify for the NCAA tourney.

"We do this every year," said Gannon. "We play the toughest competition we can find early. We're not focused on the record; we're focused on becoming consistent and coming together as a team. I think we're going to have a good team."

A crowd of 312 at the Show Me Center saw the Tigers totally dominate Monday's match.

"We're just young. We had three freshmen on the court at one time," Gannon said. "But we had some real positives."

Lisa Morris and Krista Johnson paced Missouri's balanced attack with 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Christi Myers added nine kills while Naaron Branson and Kristen Johnson contributed eight each. The Johnsons each had six blocks.

Lea Beckemeyer and Krista Haukap were Southeast's main offensive weapons with 14 and 12 kills, respectively. Haukap also had 10 digs.

Now the Otahkians will turn their attention to the start of OVC play. Southeast, favored to win yet another conference title, will begin league play this weekend with two home matches at Houck Field House, facing Tennessee-Martin at 1 p.m. Saturday and Murray State at 2 p.m. Sunday.

"Everything really starts Saturday," said Gannon. "We're looking forward to that."

In conjunction with Saturday's match, the Otahkians' new locker room facility inside Houck Field House will be officially dedicated with a 9 a.m. ceremony.

"It should be a really good day for our program," said Gannon. "We're extremely proud of the new locker room."

* The Otahkians went 0-3 in last weekend's Ball State, but one of those matches has put their name in the NCAA record book.

During Southeast's 3-1 loss to Texas-El Paso, the Otahkians won their only game by a 26-24 score, the 26 points setting an NCAA record for most points in one game.