OTAHKIANS PUSH BACK AT POWERFUL STANFORD

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- The Southeast Missouri State Otahkians made more noise than anyone expected against one of the most respected volleyball programs in the nation Friday night, but Stanford finished strong to capture a 15-10, 10-15, 15-7, 15-7 win in the first round of the NCAA Mountain Regional Tournament.

Southeast, which finished its season at 24-12, gave the Cardinal -- the No. 8 seed in the 64-team field and No. 2 in the Mountain Regional -- all it could handle in the opening two games.

Stanford, which is bidding to become the first team in NCAA women's volleyball history to win three consecutive national titles, held on for a 15-10 win in the first game, before the Otahkians came back with five service aces in the second game to pull out the 15-10 victory.

"Coming into the Stanford setting for a team like Southeast Missouri can be very intimidating," Southeast head coach Cindy Gannon said. "I'm elated with the fact that with a young team we came in and played very well."

Stanford head coach Don Shaw -- who has guided the Cardinal to a 26-3 record -- was impressed with the Otahkians' performance.

"Southeast Missouri State did a great job tonight," Shaw said. "Tonight was not the type of first-round matchup you would expect for a top eight seed. Panic could have set in for us, but we bounced back and managed to play well in games three and four."

Stanford came out firing in game three as Kerri Walsh, the Pac-10 player of the year, had five kills. The Cardinal then put an end to the upset bid by holding the Otahkians to an .065 hitting percentage in the fourth game.

Southeast sophomore Lea Beckemeyer had a team-high 15 kills and six blocks, while Angie Aschoff added 11 kills and six blocks. The Otahkians also joined USC and Nebraska by becoming just the third team to outblock the Cardinal this season, doing it by a 12-8 margin.