OTAHKS EXTEND HOUCK WIN STREAK

The Southeast Missouri Otahkians returned to the friendly confines of Houck Field House Tuesday night and extended their volleyball win streak there to 24 games.

The Southern Illinois Lady Salukis (7-7) were the victims, as they were in game one of the streak, falling in straight sets to Southeast 15-5, 15-6 and 15-3. Southeast improved to 6-8.

The young SIU squad never posed a serious threat to the Otahkians to the dismay of SIU head coach Sonya Locke.

"I thought we'd compete better, " said Locke. "We had a good practice, our spirits were high. It's really a matter of us learning how to take mistakes and turn them into triumphs, instead of letting them get us down."

The Ohtahkians, even though they dominated on the floor and on the scoreboard, did not appear quite as sharp as usual. And they had good reason. The team returned from a tournament in California -- three games in two days -- late Sunday night, then attended classes and practice on Monday.

"There's no question we're tired, " said Southeast coach Cindy Gannon. "We're going to take (Wednesday) off and get some rest, then return to practice to get ready for the weekend in Tennessee."

The Otahkians, leading the Ohio Valley Conference with a 2-0 record, meet conference foes Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech on Friday and Saturday.

Senior outside hitter Lea Beckemeyer reached a milestone at the Fresno Tournament by recording her 1,000th career kill. In recognition of her joining the elite 1,000 Kills Club, the game was halted after her first kill of the evening and she was presented the game ball. Including statistics from this game, Beckemeyer now ranks ninth all-time with 1,070 kills.

"That's been a goal of mine since I came here, " Beckemeyer said. "I just try to do the best I can every night. This year I've tried to be a little more consistent with my play since I'm in more of a leadership role."

Beckemeyer, with a career-high hitting percentage of .611, led Southeast with another double-double, 13 kills and 10 digs. Career kills leader and another member of the 1,000 Kill Club, Krista Haukap chipped in with seven kills and 10 digs. Sophomore middle blocker Emily Johnson made a solid contribution with eight kills, while freshman setter Emily Scannell dished 36 assists and had a career-high four service aces.