Nov. 8, 2003

Box Score

Cape Girardeau, Mo. - It looks as though the Southeast Missouri State volleyball team has picked a good time to get hot. After starting out 0-7 to begin the season, and 1-11 entering OVC play, it looked as though the early predictions were wrong about the Southeast squad that was picked to finish first in the league. But, after winning its sixth straight match Saturday night, the Otahks still have a chance to finish first in the Ohio Valley Conference standings, with two matches remaining.

Southeast swept the OVC-leading Morehead State Eagles 3-0 (30-17, 31-29, 30-27) in front of a boisterous crowd. Southeast improved its record to 11-16 (10-4 OVC), while MSU dropped to 19-9 (12-2 OVC).

The Otahks came out on a rampage in the first game, outhitting Morehead .469 to .125. The Otahks combined for 16 kills with only one error in the opening game.

In the second frame, the Eagles jumped ahead, and seemed in control leading 28-24, but the Otahks fired back to tie it at 29-29, eventually winning it 31-29. Again, Southeast put down 16 kills in the game, hitting for a .389 clip.

In the final game, Southeast held off a late MSU comeback, to sweep the Eagles with a 30-27 win.

For the night, Southeast had a balanced hitting attack as three hitters reached double-digits in kills, and the team hit an outstanding .339. Senior Sarah Frost led Southeast with 11 kills, just one night after tying her career-high in kills with 24 against Eastern Kentucky. Fellow senior Suzanne Gundlach also had 11 kills. The standout senior has now hit for double figures in each of her past eight matches.

Also chipping in with a strong game was freshman Jamie Baumstark, who finished with 10 kills and a .381 hitting percentage. She has come on strong as of late, having hit for 10 or more kills in three of her past four matches.

Emily Scannell had 31 assists on the night, as well as hitting .556 on the night and serving up two aces. The senior setter needs only one more ace to be tied for second all-time in the Southeast record books. Scannell also topped the 1,000 assist mark for the fourth time in her career.

Sophomore libero Jill Miller followed up her 28-dig performance with another strong match, leading all players with 15 digs. Miller has now picked up 10 or more digs in 20 of the team's 27 matches, including 12 of the 14 OVC matches.

For Morehead, Jennifer Kennedy led all scorers with 16 kills, and Cherelle Lampkins had 11 kills and 11 digs. Hohanna Thompson and Jenn Fox also had 11 pick-ups. Casie Garland had a match-high 34 assists.

Southeast will finish up the regular season with two matches on the road. They head to Murray State on Friday, and will close with Tennessee-Martin on Saturday.