Volleyball Drops 3-0 Decision To Missouri State At Home :: Freshman Taylor Harbster leads Southeast with 14 digs

Oct. 10, 2006

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Senior Erin O'Connor recorded a double-double of a match-best 11 kills, 11 digs and five solo blocks as Missouri State captured a 3-0 (30-23, 30-12, 30-15) victory over Southeast Missouri State tonight at Houck Fieldhouse. With the win, the Bears improve to 14-4 on the year, while Southeast dropped its season record to 10-10.

Freshman libero Taylor Harbster (Grand Prairie, Texas/South Grand Prairie) led the Redhawks with a match-best 14 digs. Senior outside hitter Jessica Koeper (Jackson, Mo./Jackson) added 12 digs and freshman libero Molly Davis (Muncie, Ind./Burris) contributed 10 digs for Southeast. Senior setter Jamie Baumstark (Hermann, Mo./Hermann) posted 21 assists and freshman middle blocker Hannah Weis (St. Louis, Mo./Incarnate Word) tallied six kills.

In the match's opening game, the Redhawks jumped to an early 11-9 lead on back-to-back kills by junior outside hitter Brittany Hastings (Wichita, Kan./Circle) and sophomore middle blocker Katrina Niemeyer (Germantown, Ill./Mater Dei). Consecutive kills by freshman Shanda Harper opened a 21-12 scoring drive to capture the first game, including a game-ending kill by senior Sarah Lansing.

Missouri State kicked off the second stanza with a 12-3 lead thanks to a solo block by O'Connor, who also produced seven kills in the game. Southeast could get no closer than 12 points as the Bears' defense held the home team to a -.310 hitting clip en route to a two-game advantage heading into intermission.

A service ace by sophomore Nikki Vandepopulier put the visitors ahead by an early 11-1 margin in the third game. Two kills from junior Jamie Adams and a Lansing service ace later hiked Missouri State's lead to 17-6. Southeast sliced its deficit to 25-16 on a pair of Weis kills and a hitting error, but the Bears closed out the match by scoring the final five points, including a block by Harper and junior Sara Thomas.

In addition to O'Connor, junior Katelyn Panzau produced a match-best 34 assists and Harper added seven blocks (two solo, five assisted) for the Bears. Senior Adeana McAfee and Vandepopulier paced Missouri State on the defensive end with 13 and 10 digs, respectively, while Adams recorded nine kills.

The Redhawks resume OVC play on the road this Friday at Murray State with the first serve at 7 p.m.