OTAHKS SWEEP UTM IN OVC OPENER

Some things never change, or so it must seem to Tennessee-Martin when they meet Southeast Missouri State on the volleyball court.

The Otahkians (2-6, 1-0) again handled the Skyhawks with relative ease in straight sets 16-14, 15-4 and 15-9 at Houck Field House on Saturday. SEMO has never lost a match to Tennessee-Martin and holds a phenomenal 45-3 edge in games won since the series began in '91.

Tennessee-Martin (6-3,1-2) defeated Murray State, SEMO's next opponent, earlier in the week and lost to Eastern Illinois on Friday.

"We came in feeling like we needed a win," said SEMO coach Cindy Gannon, "after facing some tough competition early in the season."

Southeast Missouri, the preseason pick to defend its Ohio Valley Conference title, once again received explosive net play from senior outside hitters Lea Beckemeyer and Krista Haukap. Beckemeyer had a team-high 18 kills and also came up with eight digs. Haukap led the Otahkians with 14 digs and notched 12 kills. Middle blocker Rachelle Knapp chipped in with eight kills and setter Emily Scannell was credited with 30 assists and aced three service points.

SEMO vaulted out to an early 6-0 lead in the first game and was rolling along at 12-4 when the Skyhawks mounted a charge scoring 10 unanswered points to take a 14-12 lead. The Otahkians, however, didn't flinch as they put together a mini-rally of their own to score four straight points and close out the game at 16-14.

In the second game, the Otahkians dominated the Skyhawks, never allowing their offense to get going in a 15-4 rout. Game three was more of the same, as the inside play of SEMO was overpowering and simply wore down the visitors from Martin, 15-9.

"It's been a rough weekend for us facing the top two teams in the conference," said Skyhawk coach Chris Rushing. "SEMO's outside people beat us. They hit the ball so hard and we were never able to adjust to it."

The Otahkians face Murray State at Houck today at 2 p.m.

* Prior to the game, SEMO held dedication ceremonies for their new state-of-art facility, the Jacque LeMone "Go SEMO" locker room.