OTAHKIANS TRY TO ADD SECOND TOURNEY TITLE

Southeast Missouri State University's surging volleyball team will shoot for its second straight tournament championship this weekend.

The Otahkians, who have won four straight matches and captured last weekend's Missouri Invitational, will participate today and Saturday in the Kentucky Conference Challenge in Lexington, Ky.

Southeast (4-4) will play Kentucky at 6 p.m. today, then have two matches Saturday, facing Hofstra at 9 a.m. and Central Michigan at 4 p.m.

Kentucky has a 5-2 record while Hofstra is 7-2 and Central Michigan 3-4.

Three Southeast players -- Jackie Derwort, Angie Aschoff and Krista Haukap -- have all entered the coveted 1,000-kill club this season. This marks the second time in four years that three Otahkians have gotten their 1,000 career kill in the same season.

"It's a great accomplishment for them," said Southeast coach Cindy Gannon. "They've meant a lot to our program."

Cross country at Vanderbilt

Southeast's women's cross country team will challenge some of the nation's top squads Saturday when the Otahkians compete in a meet hosted by Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn.

Teams entered include Auburn, Louisiana State, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Houston and about 15 other collegiate squads.

"We'll be going against some awfully good teams, but I expect us to do well," said Southeast coach Joey Haines.

The Otahkians, idle last weekend, had a solid opening-season performance at Southern Illinois two weeks ago, placing second behind SIU but beating Kansas, Mississippi State and Southern Indiana.

Senior Leslie McNamara, selected as the Ohio Valley Conference Runner of the Week, was third at the SIU meet. Tammy Wenkel was fifth and Amy Arteme sixth.

Soccer resumes action Sunday

Southeast's women's soccer team will play its first game in almost two weeks Sunday when the Otahkians compete at Western Illinois.

The contest in Macomb, Ill., is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

Southeast, 0-3 in its inaugural season, has not played since Sept. 6. Western Illinois is 0-5.

"This should be a good match," said Otahkian coach Heather Nelson. "Although we haven't gotten a win yet, I feel our team is continuing to improve.

"We've had some injuries that have really hurt our depth, but goalkeeper Beth Guccione is healthy now and that will be a big plus going into this match."

In order to provide more depth, Nelson has added three walkons to the squad, including softball player Tami Hebert, who will be a backup goalie.