Tested by Bradley, Southeast wins home opener

After spending much of the first few weeks of the season on long bus trips and living in motels, Southeast Missouri State volleyball players were elated to finally have a home match.

And the Redhawks celebrated their 2006 Houck Field House debut by beating visiting Bradley University in four games Wednesday night.

The Redhawks' 30-21, 29-31, 30-27, 30-25 victory improved their record to 6-7 and gave them five wins in six matches entering Friday's start of Ohio Valley Conference play.

But before the Redhawks begin thinking about the OVC schedule, they were simply happy to have finally returned home following 12 straight contests on the road.

"Finally. Finally. It gets old on the road," Southeast senior outside hitter Jessica Koeper said. "But it makes it so much better when we finally get to come home."

Added freshman middle blocker Hannah Weis: "It was nice to finally get home. We've been playing [practicing] in here for a month and a half and we finally got to play a match. And the crowd got into it, which was really nice."

Southeast coach Renata Nowacki also was appreciative for an enthusiastic gathering of about 150 fans. She thought they helped the Redhawks through some rough spots against Bradley.

"It was exciting to finally play at home and to sleep in our own beds after a match," Nowacki said. "I loved the crowd. The enthusiasm really helps, especially when the team is not playing up to par."

The Redhawks easily won the first game over a Bradley team that entered with a five-match losing streak.

But the Braves (3-8) did not go down easily, rallying to win the second game and hanging tough despite dropping the final two games.

"I don't know if we thought Bradley was going to roll over after we won the first game," Nowacki said. "But we picked it up the last two games. We had less errors. I told them we don't have to make the spectacular play."

Koeper, a Jackson High School product and a first-team all-OVC selection last year, had a double-double with 20 kills and 26 digs. She led the Redhawks in kills the past two seasons and again tops the squad.

Junior outside hitter Brittany Hastings followed close behind with a career-high 19 kills.

Senior setter Jamie Baumstark, a second-team all-OVC pick in 2005, dished out 49 assists. She topped Southeast in that category the past two years and again leads the way.

Two freshmen who man the defensive specialist libero position reached double figures in digs as Taylor Harbster had 17 and Molly Davis added 12. Davis had been leading the Redhawks in digs before Koeper passed her Wednesday.

Nowacki credited another freshman -- Weis -- with her best performance of the season. Weis had eight kills and a team-high .438 attack percentage. Weis leads Southeast in blocks and she had four Wednesday.

"It was a career match for Hannah. She has been working extra hard and it's paying off," Nowacki said. "Three freshmen are playing key roles for us and they're doing a good job."

Junior middle blocker Brenna Schlader added eight kills and a team-high seven blocks.

Bradley was led by Amber DeBroux with 13 kills.

Now the Redhawks will turn their attention to the start of OVC play. Southeast will begin by hosting two conference opponents, Tennessee-Martin at 7 p.m. Friday and Murray State at 2 p.m. Saturday.

"We can't wait for the conference to begin," Koeper said. "That's what we're really shooting for."