Sept. 19, 2006

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - After playing its first 12 matches on the road, Southeast Missouri State volleyball opens its 10-match home schedule this Wednesday night (Sept. 20) against Bradley at Houck Fieldhouse with the first serve at 7 p.m. The Braves come into the contest sporting a record of 3-7, while the Redhawks are 5-7 on the year.

"After watching tape and reviewing kind of where our weaknesses were and we tried to address that in a week of practice," Southeast head coach Renata Nowacki said. "We feel that we have addressed the areas that would most help us improve and win against Bradley. The girls seem relaxed and we've hit the gym hard over the last two days so we're ready."

Southeast takes on a Missouri Valley Conference opponent for the second time this season after dropping a three-game decision at Southern Illinois on Sept. 12. Senior outside hitter Jessica Koeper (Jackson, Mo./Jackson) paces the Redhawks with 213 kills, while senior setter Jamie Baumstark (Hermann, Mo./Hermann) is the team leader in assists (439) and service aces (18).

The Braves comes into Houck having lost their last five contests, including a three-game loss to Northern Iowa in their MVC opener in Peoria, Ill., last weekend. Senior outside hitters Amber DeBroux and Kelly Niemeyer lead Bradley with 136 and 123 kills, respectively. Niemeyer is the older sister of Southeast sophomore middle blocker Katrina Niemeyer (Germantown, Ill./Mater Dei). Sophomore setter Sam Black is the Braves' assist leader with 278 assists and senior libero Jennifer Bohan has amassed a team-best 135 digs.

After Wednesday's contest, the Redhawks open OVC play at Houck this Friday night against Tennessee-Martin with a start time of 7 p.m.