OTAHKS UNPACK BAGS FOR FIRST HOME MATCH

After 12 matches, Southeast Missouri State University's volleyball team will finally get to play at home tonight -- and coach Cindy Gannon couldn't be happier.

"It will be nice to be at home for a weekend," said Gannon with a laugh. "We've stayed in a lot of motel rooms the past few weeks."

The Otahkians will square off with Middle Tennessee State at 7 p.m. at Houck Field House. The match will not only mark Southeast's home opener but also its first Ohio Valley Conference match of the season.

"We're anxious to get the conference season started," said Gannon.

Southeast has won the past four OVC regular-season championships and will carry a 28-match regular-season OVC winning streak into tonight's contest.

While the Otahkians are not favored to win a fifth straight OVC title this year -- they were picked second behind Eastern Illinois in an extremely close vote of the league's coaches -- Gannon likes her team.

"We're young and inexperienced, but I think we've got a lot of talent," she said. "I know we're not picked (to win the OVC) this year, but I think we'll still have a good chance to win it."

The Otahkians are 8-4 after winning the 7-Up Billiken Invitational in St. Louis last weekend. Southeast placed four players on the all-tournament team: MVP Tuba Meto, Krista Haukap, Jackie Derwort and Mandy Edgington.

Meto is the team's lone senior. Edgington is a junior, Derwort a sophomore and Haukap a freshman.

"Being a young team, I think being on the road the first few weeks of the season has allowed us to bond, to let the team thing get going," Gannon said. "Overall, I'm very pleased with the way we've started out. This past weekend we started to see some of our younger players step up."

Gannon said MTSU should offer the Otahkians a solid test.

"They're good," she said. "They have a very good setter who was hurt last year, a lot of other returners, plus a lot of new recruits. I look for them to play well."

A host of special activities will be featured at tonight's match. There will be free food and drinks for the first 100 fans, games and prizes will be given away and two people will have a chance to win a $10,000 prize.

In addition, the Otahkians will be attempting to break the OVC volleyball attendance record tonight. The record is believed to be a little more than 1,200 fans and Gannon said the goal for tonight's crowd is 1,300. Toward that end, the 1,300th fan tonight will receive a $100 cash prize.

"Hopefully we'll have a big crowd," said Gannon. "We're shooting for the OVC record early. We're looking for 1,300 fans."

Following tonight's match, the Otahkians will have another home OVC contest Sunday, facing Tennessee Tech at 2 p.m.