UTM tops Otahkians in final of conference tourney

A day after putting up one of its most impressive performances of the season, third-seeded Southeast could not keep its momentum going as it was swept in three games by No. 1 seed Tennessee Martin Saturday in the Ohio Valley Conference Championship in Martin, Tenn.

The victory gave Tennessee-Martin (24-5, 15-1) the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Southeast (20-12, 13-3) got down early in game one, falling behind 8-3 and 11-5, before pulling to within three at 15-12. The Otahkians could not get any closer than three though, and dropped the first game 30-24. The loss in game one ended a string of six straight tournament game wins.

In game two, Southeast was able to grab a 14-12 lead midway through the contest, but could not keep the Skyhawks' heavy hitting at bay and fell 30-21.

Game three saw the Otahkians with the lead throughout the match and the Skyhawks playing catch-up. Clinging to a 25-24 lead, Southeast could not finish off Tennessee-Martin. After tying the game at 28, the Skyhawks posted consecutive points to finish off the match and the Otahkians' season.

The Otahkians were hindered by a .110 hitting average for the match, well below their season conference average of .237. While outblocking the Skyhawks 11-10, Tennessee-Martin still managed to pound out 63 kills.

Emily Johnson led the way for Southeast with 11 kills and 10 digs in her final match at Southeast. Fellow senior Bobbi Carlile added nine kills and 11 digs, and setter Emily Scannell had 30 assists and 15 digs. Libero Suzanne Gundlach added 13 digs.

The Otahkians were making their sixth tournament championship appearance in the last nine years. For Tennessee-Martin, it was their third OVC tournament championship appearance in a row, and first victory.