Oct. 15, 2003

The Souteheast Missouri State volleyball team will head on the road the next three days to play three conference games against Tennessee State, Jacksonville State, and Samford. Southeast is 3-3 thus far in conference play (4-15 overall).

Southeast went 1-1 to begin its five-game road trip last weekend, beating Tennessee Tech 3-0 and losing to Austin Peay 3-0.

Scouting Tennessee State... The Lady Tigers' (4-15, 0-7 OVC) conference losing streak continued through Tuesday as they were swept by Austin Peay. Jennifer Corral is leading TSU in kills with a 4.00 kpg average, good enough for sixth in the OVC. However, Tennessee State's team hitting percentage of .137 is the lowest in the league. Defensively, the Lady Tigers are led by Catherine Armwood and her 3.69 digs per game.

Southeast beat TSU 3-0 on Oct. 3. In the match, Southeast held TSU to just a .119 hitting percentage. The Otahks, however, hit a season-high .423 PCT. Senior outside hitter Suzanne Gundlach led Southeast with 13 kills, good for a .591 hitting percentage.

Scouting Jacksonville State... The Gamecocks (13-6, 3-3 OVC) have been a streaky squad this season. After posting two three-game winning streaks, JSU ran off six consecutive victories. However, the Gamecocks then went on a three-game losing skid that lasted until they topped Georgia State Tuesday 3-1.

The Gamecocks sport a good all-around team, as they are strong both offensively and defensively. They hold the second highest team hitting percentage at .251. At the same time, they are holding their opponent's to a .180 hitting percentage, also second in the conference.

JSU will be led by hitters Christina Cary and Shari Weyer. Cary and Weyer are ranked first and third in OVC hitting percentage, respectively. Weyer is coming off a 19-kill match against Georgia State. Weyer is also the league's second best blocker with a 1.04 blocks per game average. To round out their team, Jessica Sarck is second only to Southeast's Emily Scannell in service aces per game.

Scouting Samford...Currently on a two-game losing skid, Samford (7-12, 1-5 OVC) will play Eastern Illinois on Friday before they take on Southeast on Saturday. The Bulldogs lone OVC victory came against the winless Tennessee State Lady Tigers on Sep. 27. The Samford squad will be led by the offensive combination of hitter Alyssa Whitehead and setter Krista Kettering. Whitehead is second in the OVC with a 4.24 kills per game average, while Kettering is third in the conference with 11.86 assists per game.

Defensively, the Bulldogs are led by Stefanie Pickett. She is eighth in the league with .84 blocks per game.

Southeast will return home for a five-game homestand on Oct. 21 against conference leader Murray State.