OTAHKS UNPACK OVC WIN UPON RETURN TO HOME FLOOR

Every team likes to play at home. But Southeast Missouri State University's volleyball squad was extra happy to finally be back in front of its own fans Tuesday night.

The Otahkians, after opening the season with a home match, played their next 13 contests away from Cape Girardeau.

So the Otahkians were understandably pleased to finally be in the friendly confines of Houck Field House, where they rolled past Ohio Valley Conference foe Tennessee-Martin 15-8, 15-7, 15-10 before a crowd of more than 250.

"We finally get to unpack our bags for a while," said a smiling Krista Haukap, who led Southeast's offensive attack with 13 kills. "Those long road trips can wear on you and playing at home is so nice for everybody."

Southeast improved to 9-5 overall and 2-1 in OVC play. UTM is 3-10 overall, 0-4 in the league.

"We've been on the road for a long time," said Southeast coach Cindy Gannon, whose squad had played its only other home match way back on Sept. 1. "It's good to be back at home, but I think we're a little tired from all the traveling."

Despite the relatively routine victory, Gannon was the first to admit that her team was not at its best against the overmatched Skyhawks.

"We won tonight and I'll take that any time," she said. "But we've slowed down the tempo of our game and we need to get it back up.

"We've been used to playing faster-paced teams (in non-league play) and we're going to have to pick things up. But I think that will come."

Jackie Derwort added 12 kills for the Otahkians and she also had a team-leading 13 digs, just ahead of Haukap's 12.

Lea Beckemeyer contributed nine kills, nine digs and three service aces. Angie Aschoff added eight kills, setter Amy Henken had 40 assists and six digs, and Rachelle Knapp chipped in with five kills.

UTM's Kristie Giles had a match-high 14 kills while teammate Natalie Klevan added 12.

While the Otahkians were never threatened, the Skyhawks did hang tough much of the way before Southeast was able to take control toward the end of each game.

"I thought we played okay tonight, not our best," Haukap said. "We still have a lot of things to work on but I know we're going to continue to improve and get better."

The Otahkians, the preseason favorites to win the OVC title, suffered an upset loss at Austin Peay last Friday night in their conference opener.

Southeast bounced back the next day to win at Tennessee State and now the Otahkians have a chance to put together a winning streak against some of the OVC's lower-ranked teams.

The Otahkians will have two more OVC home matches the rest of the week, taking on Eastern Kentucky Friday night and Morehead State Saturday afternoon.

"Eastern Kentucky has improved and Morehead State is struggling, but they're better than their record," Gannon said.