Oct. 4, 2006

Eastern Illinois-Tennessee Tech (Week 7) Notes
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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -

This Week: Southeast Missouri State volleyball returns to Houck Fieldhouse this week to begin another three-game homestand. The Redhawks open the homestand with an Ohio Valley Conference mid-week contest on Wednesday, Oct. 4 against Eastern Illinois with start time of 7 p.m. After the EIU match, Southeast finishes out the week by welcoming Tennessee Tech to Houck for an OVC battle on Friday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m.

Scouting The Redhawks: Southeast enters the week with a record on 8-9 on the year, which includes a 2-2 ledger in the OVC. Last weekend, the Redhawks posted a split during their trip to Kentucky with a 3-0 win at defending OVC regular-season champion Eastern Kentucky and a 3-1 loss at Morehead State. Senior outside hitter Jessica Koeper is Southeast's leader in kills (273 - 4.63 kpg) and digs (239 - 4.05 dpg), while senior setter Jamie Baumstark has produced a team-best 625 assists (10.59 apg) and 21 aces (0.59 sapg) on the year. Junior middle blocker Brenna Schlader has tallied a .312 hitting percentage and 62 blocks (13 solo, 49 assists - 1.05 bpg) for top team honors in addition to ranking second with 183 kills (3.10 kpg). Freshman libero Molly Davis currently ranks second on the Redhawks with 238 digs (4.10 dpg) and 46 assists (0.79 apg).

Scouting The Panthers: Eastern Illinois heads into Wednesday's match sporting a 5-9 overall record and a 0-4 in OVC play after losing a pair of four-game decisions on the road last weekend to Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State. The Panthers are led by junior outside hitter/defensive specialist Eliza Zwettler's 177 kills (3.34 kpg) and freshman defensive specialist Shaina Boylan's 271 digs (4.93 dpg). Junior setter Maren Crabtree, a preseason All-OVC Second Team honoree, paces EIU with 642 assists (11.46 apg) and 24 service aces (0.48 sapg). In addition, junior middle blocker Kera Griffin has recorded a team-best 46 blocks (13 s, 33 asst. - 0.82 bpg) to go along with a .269 hitting percentage. The Panthers are guided by head coach Lori Bennett, who has tallied a 21-19 record in her first two seasons at the Charleston, Ill., school.

Series History: Southeast holds a slim 16-15-1 margin in the all-time series with Eastern Illinois and has won three of the last five meetings at Houck Fieldhouse. Last season, the Redhawks captured won two out of three matches, including a five-game win in the quarterfinals of the OVC Tournament in Charleston, Ill.

Scouting The Golden Eagles: Tennessee Tech brings a 4-11 season record and a 1-3 conference mark into Friday's match against the Redhawks. The Golden Eagles hosted their first home matches at the Eblen Center last weekend with a three-game loss to Jacksonville State and a four-game win over Samford. TTU is led offensively by freshman outside hitter Amanda Lindgren, who has posted a team-high 139 kills for an average of 2.67 per game. Sophomore middle blocker Caitlin Bullock currently leads the Golden Eagles with 35 blocks (13 solo, 33 assists - 0.82 bpg) and a .260 hitting percentage while ranking second on the team with 127 kills (2.40 kpg). Sophomore setter Kappy Lang is TTU's leader with 544 assists (10.26 apg) and 11 service aces (0.21 sapg), while redshirt freshman Katie Kenline has produced a team-best 244 digs (4.60). John Blair has produced a 33-68 record in his three-plus seasons as head coach at Tennessee Tech.

Series History: The Redhawks hold a commanding 28-6 series lead with Tennessee Tech. Both teams captured a victory on its home floor in thrilling five-game battles last season. Southeast has won nine of the last ten meetings in the series since the 2001 season.

Baumstark Nearing School's Service Ace Record: Senior setter Jamie Baumstark is closing in the school record for career service aces as she currently ranks second all-time with 184 aces, including 21 this season. The 5-11 native of Hermann, Mo., needs eight aces to tie former Southeast standout Tuba Meto's (1988-1992) mark of 192 aces. Baumstark twice recorded a season best four service aces at the Memphis Invitational on Sept. 8 against UALR and the host Tigers.

Davis Equal Career High Dig Total At Morehead State: Freshman Molly Davis continued her stellar rookie campaign last weekend at Morehead State. Davis, a 5-2 libero from Muncie, Ind., tied a career high for digs with 23 against the Eagles and extended her streak of consecutive double-digit dig matches to seven. For the season, she is averaging a team-best 4.10 digs per game.

Schlader Sets Career Numbers In Kentucky: Junior middle blocker Brenna Schlader posted a pair of career highs during Southeast's trip to Kentucky last weekend. The 6-5 Schlader opened the weekend by recording a .812 hitting percentage with 13 kills on 16 errorless swings at Eastern Kentucky, eclipsing her previous career-high hitting clip of .708 versus UT Martin, and recorded a career-best eight block assists the next day at Morehead State.

Up Next: Southeast hosts in-state rival Missouri State in the final match of its three-match homestand on Oct. 10 at 6 p.m. The Redhawks then hit the road next weekend for a pair of OVC contests at Murray State (Oct. 13 - 7 p.m.) and UT Martin (Oct. 14 - 2 p.m.).