No. 6 seed Redhawks have eye on reaching final

The Southeast Missouri State volleyball team barely squeezed into the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

But coach Renata Nowacki is confident the Redhawks can surprise people despite being the last seed for the six-team event that begins today in Jacksonville, Ala.

"Our team will be extremely disappointed if we don't make the finals," Nowacki said. "I think that is absolutely 110 percent realistic for us."

Southeast (14-17, 8-8 OVC) finished tied with Tennessee Tech for sixth place in the 11-team league, and the squads split their two regular-season meetings, each winning in four games.

The Redhawks secured the final tournament berth because of scoring more points than the Eaglettes in their two meetings.

Southeast's reward was a long return trip to Jacksonville, Ala. -- the Redhawks played at Jacksonville State on Saturday -- and a meeting with third-seeded Murray State (19-7, 11-5).

The Redhawks and Racers square off at 6 p.m. today, following a match between fourth-seeded Eastern Kentucky (17-13, 10-6) and fifth-seeded Morehead State (20-12, 10-6).

If Southeast wins today, it will advance to Friday's 3:30 p.m. semifinal against second-seeded Tennessee State (20-13, 12-4).

Top-seeded Jacksonville State (21-4, 16-0) and Tennessee State received first-round byes. The championship match is set for 2 p.m. Saturday.

Nowacki said the Redhawks are looking forward to a third match against Murray State, which won both regular-season meetings with Southeast.

The Racers rolled past the Redhawks in four games on Sept. 23 in Cape Girardeau, before Southeast lost a tight five-game match in Murray, Ky., on Oct. 13.

"Our girls are really hungry to beat Murray," Nowacki said. "They're really excited about the match."

Southeast has had an up-and-down second year under Nowacki, but she believes the Redhawks began to turn things around late in the regular season.

The Redhawks won three of their final five matches and on Saturday became the first OVC team to win a game from regular-season Jacksonville State this year as they fell in four games.

"I think we've really turned things around these last few matches," Nowacki said. "We're really regrouping and getting things together.

"We lost in four close games to Jacksonville State. They definitely have to be the heavy favorite because of what they did this year, and they're playing at home, but I feel good about my team right now."