Redhawks spikers gain share of three-way split of OVC title

~ Southeast volleyball had its strong finish rewarded with a tie atop the standings with Morehead State and Jacksonville State.

The Southeast Missouri State volleyball team did not get to celebrate its share of the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship on the court.

But that didn't make things any less sweet for the Redhawks.

Southeast ended its regular season Friday night with a home sweep of Austin Peay. At that time, the second-place Redhawks still trailed first-place Morehead State by one-half game.

By late Saturday afternoon, after Morehead State was upset at Samford, the Redhawks were OVC tri-champions, along with the Eagles and Jacksonville State.

AARON EISENHAUER aeisenhauer@semissourian.com (Southeast Missouri State sophomore Karleigh DeLong spiked over a block during a match earlier this season. Southeast went 12-1 in its final 13 regular season matches to claim a share of the OVC title.)

"Coach [Renata Nowacki] called me yesterday with the news. She said spread the word, so I started calling everybody," sophomore libero Molly Davis said Sunday afternoon. "It's really exciting."

Forgive the Redhawks if they don't feel like they backed into Southeast's first OVC regular-season championship since 2000, and the program's ninth since joining the league in 1991.

Southeast has been the conference's hottest team, winning 12 of its final 13 regular-season matches, including 11 of 12 league contests.

On Oct. 2, after losing at Murray State, the Redhawks were 4-4 in OVC matches. They ended the year 15-5 in league play and 20-11 overall.

"We knew we were a good team," said Nowacki, in her third season as Southeast's head coach. "We weren't consistent, but I thought it was just a matter of time, and I was just hoping we wouldn't run out of time."

The Redhawks have had by far their best season since Nowacki was moved up from assistant coach to direct the program after longtime coach Cindy Gannon stepped down to become an assistant athletic director at Southeast.

Last year, Southeast barely squeezed into the six-team OVC tournament as the Redhawks tied for sixth in the 11-team conference at 8-8. They went 16-18 overall.

Nowacki's first Southeast squad in 2005 was 16-16 overall and a fifth-place 11-5 in the OVC.

"This season has been a lot of fun. It's an honor to hang a banner," Nowacki said.

This is Southeast's first 20-win season since Gannon's 2002 squad went 20-12. Gannon, Southeast's coach from 1989 through 2004, led the program to eight OVC regular-season titles, including five straight from 1993 through 1997.

Nowacki believed this year's team could contend for an OVC championship, although the rest of the conference did not. Southeast was predicted to finish sixth in the preseason poll.

"I just think the talent that we're recruiting keeps getting better and better," said Nowacki, who will probably be the leading candidate for OVC coach of the year when the league postseason awards are handed out later this week.

With just three seniors, the Redhawks are a relatively young squad.

Sophomore Karleigh DeLong, not one of Southeast's primary offensive weapons as a freshman although she did start, has become one of the OVC's top outside hitters.

DeLong leads the Redhawks and ranks among the league leaders with 415 kills.

Junior college transfer outside hitter Aubrey Dondlinger is right behind DeLong with 398 kills to form a potent one-two punch.

"We had something to prove," said DeLong of the Redhawks being picked sixth in the OVC preseason poll.

Senior middle blocker Brenna Schlader ranks among the conference leaders in blocks with 120, Davis is among the OVC leaders in digs with 610 and sophomore setter Sarah Barth ranks high in assists with 1,136.

"Everything has just come together for us," Davis said.

Now the Redhawks will set their sights on gaining the program's first NCAA tournament berth since 2000. The OVC tournament champion receives the league's automatic NCAA bid.

Because of tie-breakers, Southeast is seeded third for the six-team OVC tourney that will be played Thursday through Saturday at Jacksonville State in Alabama.

Southeast faces sixth-seeded Tennessee Tech in Thursday's opening round, which also features No. 4 Tennessee State vs. No. 5 Murray State.

No. 1 Jacksonville State, the defending champion, and No. 2 Morehead State receive byes into Friday's semifinals.

Southeast won both regular-season meetings with Jacksonville State, while the Redhawks lost twice to Morehead State.

"I feel good [about Southeast[']s chances], but at the same time I'm nervous. The third seed is tough, having to win three matches," Nowacki said. "Anything goes in this conference."