OVC preseason poll picks Redhawks for third in volleyball

The Southeast Missouri State volleyball team was picked to finish third in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Tuesday's announcement of the OVC preseason poll saw the Redhawks receive four of the 20 first-place votes and 127 points.

Morehead State is the preseason favorite based on voting by the league's head coaches and sports information directors.

The Eagles, who shared last year's OVC regular-season title before losing in the championship match of the conference tournament, received 10 first-place votes and 151 points.

Tennessee Tech was picked second in the 10-team league with five first-place votes and 129 points, just ahead of Southeast.

Southeast earned a share of last year's OVC regular-season title as the Redhawks went 20-12 overall and 15-5 in league play under conference coach of the year Renata Nowacki.

The Redhawks return five starters and nine letterwinners, led by junior outside hitter Karleigh DeLong and senior outside hitter Aubrey Dondlinger.

DeLong, first-team all-OVC in 2007, made Tuesday's list for first-team preseason all-OVC. She led the Redhawks with 433 kills and ranked fourth in the conference with 513.5 points.

Dondlinger, on the OVC all-newcomer squad last year, was voted second-team preseason all-conference. She led the 2007 Redhawks with 22 double-doubles.

"I think it's great that the other coaches and sports information directors in the OVC recognize Karleigh and Aubrey as two of the top players in the conference," Nowacki said in a release. "Obviously they were crucial to our success last year and we will again look upon them to not only improve on what they did last season, but for leadership in 2008."

Southeast opens the season Aug. 29 against South Dakota State at the Blue Raider Bash in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Hearne nabs honor

Recently graduated Southeast javelin thrower Lindsay Hearne has been named to the 2008 Division I All-Academic Track and Field team selected by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Hearne was an NCAA regional qualifier, finished third at the OVC meet and had a 3.803 cumulative grade-point average.

"We are certainly proud of Lindsay's accomplishments both on the field and in the classroom," Southeast coach Eric Crumpecker said in a release. "She will be hard to replace next season."

As a group, the Southeast women's track squad was honored as a scholar team by the USTFCCA. The Redhawks had the nation's 17th best GPA, at 3.379.

Soccer team wins

The Southeast women's soccer team beat host Indiana State 3-2 on Tuesday as the Redhawks opened their three-game exhibition schedule.

Southeast scored all three goals in the opening 18 minutes and held off the Sycamores.

Casey Kraft, Lauren Lacopo and Ashley Runion had goals for the Redhawks, who held a 9-5 edge in shots. Megan McGrath, Nikki Edwards and Gabriella Eisenberg recorded assists.

Southeast's final two exhibitions will be at home, Friday against Arkansas State and Sunday against Missouri-St. Louis. Both games are set for 7 p.m.

The Redhawks, the defending OVC regular-season and tournament champions, open the regular season Aug. 22 at home against Saint Louis University.

— From staff reports