ASU KNOCKS OFF SE IN OPENER

Southeast Missouri State University volleyball coach Cindy Gannon wasn't sure if her Otahkians were quite ready to defeat a squad as strong as Arkansas State.

Gannon found out Wednesday night that the Otahkians weren't. In the first regular-season volleyball match ever played at the Show Me Center, ASU's Lady Indians claimed a 16-14, 15-4, 15-13 victory.

An enthusiastic crowd of about 450 fans tried to help the Otahkians muster a late comeback. But it fell short in the season opener for both teams.

"I knew there were some areas we probably needed to work on and it showed tonight," said Gannon. "But it's hard to be disappointed just because of one loss.

"We knew we weren't going to go undefeated. Arkansas State is a great team, but we're going to learn from this. All our pre-conference matches are intended to help us get better for the conference season."

Wednesday's match pitted teams who have dominated their respective conferences in recent years. Southeast has won six of the past eight Ohio Valley championships while ASU has claimed seven of the past eight Sun Belt titles.

"We played a real steady match," said ASU coach Craig Cummings. "Every match we have with SEMO is a knock-down, drag-out battle. They have another excellent team."

The Otahkians appeared to be in control of the first game as they led 14-8. But Southeast, despite serving four times for the game, never scored again as ASU rallied with the final eight points.

"That was definitely a great comeback, especially against a team the quality of SEMO," Cummings said.

Said Gannon, "When you get a team down like that, you have to finish it off. It shows we weren't quite ready."

ASU continued its momentum from the end of game one by rolling in game two.

The Lady Indians were also cruising in game three, leading 14-5. The Otahkians then reeled off eight straight points before their comeback fell short.

"Things can change in a hurry. That's the nature of the sport and why volleyball is such a great game," said Cummings.

Susanne Snipes paced ASU offensively with 18 kills, followed by Beth Cochran with 12 and Shauna Standart with 10. Jessica Barney had 51 assists.

Lea Beckemeyer paced the Otahkians with 17 kills and she also added 10 digs. Krista Haukap had 14 kills while Amy Henken dished out 43 assists.

Southeast senior Jackie Derwort had only five kills, but her first one early in the match gave her 1,000 for her career, making her just the sixth Otahkian to reach that milestone since the school moved up to the Division I level in 1991.

"It's a great honor for Jackie," Gannon said. "She's so dedicated and hard-working. She deserves any honor she receives."

Two other Otahkians figure to enter the 1,000-kill club soon. Senior Angie Aschoff needs just 24 more kills while Haukap, a junior, is only 45 kills away.

Now the Otahkians will prepare for some more rugged competition as they leave today for Fort Collins, Colo., site of the three-day Colorado State Tournament that will be played Friday through Sunday.

"We're going to face some more very good teams, but that's what the pre-OVC schedule is for," said Gannon. "It's only going to make us better."