North Carolina
Southeast Missouri State
Volleyball Falls at NCAAs to Southeast Missouri State
December 1, 2000 | Volleyball
Nov. 30, 2000
Gainesville, Fla. (November 30, 2000) - Southeast Missouri State's Krista Haukap slammed down a career-high 39 kills as the Otahkians advanced to their first-ever second round with a 3-2 upset of first-round opponent North Carolina in the 2000 NCAA Volleyball Tournament. Haukap's match-winning kill also set an Ohio Valley Conference record for a single match.
UNC built an early lead in the match as they posted the first two wins. In game one, the Tar Heels built a 9-4 lead but Southeast wouldn't back down as they used a 7-2 run to bring the game back to an 11-all tie. Otahkian hitting miscues and a game-winning kill by UNC's Nicole Reis allowed the Heels to pull away for the 15-13 win.
Just as Southeast thought the momentum was shifting in game two with a 6-1 opening, the Heels slowly began staging their comeback. A kill by Reis started the climb as teammates Holly Strauss and Casey Simpson added to the kill pile. Southeast saw its 11-5 lead evaporate as the Tar Heels rallied to move out to an 11-10 UNC edge after a kill by Strauss and the Otahkians' own net violation. The Tar Heels would keep the lead and Malaika Underwood gave the Heels a 2-0 match advantage off her service ace.
Southeast finally began to sense its destiny as the team paced UNC point-for-point in game three. At 11-all, Southeast's Lea Beckemeyer used a kill to the right side to pull ahead 12-11. A hitting error by Simpson and an ace by freshman Suzanne Gundlach allowed for Lori Lange's ace to seal the win.
The Otahks used the momentum to dominate in game four. The team hit a match-high .444 as UNC faltered at .106. With the 15-6 win, the match's biggest points spread, Southeast began to sense a little dj vu. Last year, the Otahks battled back from two games down to force a game-five with Loyola Marymount before the Lions clinched the match with a 20-18 victory.
The rally scoring in game five was fast and furious, as both team traded points with neither squad taking more than a two-point advantage until the very end. With UNC holding a slim 10-9 margin, Southeast tied the game up at 10-10 off a Heels error. One block and two kills later, the Otahkians sported a 13-10 lead. Beckemeyer later had an opportunity to ice the match at 14-12, but served the ball long. After UNC edged one point closer with a block assist by Strauss and Krista Buchholz, Southeast's Haukap sealed the 15-13 victory with her record-breaking kill.
Haukap, the 2000 OVC Player of the Year, led all players with her 39 kills, while Beckemeyer added a career-high 29. Fellow senior teammate Rachelle Knapp was a menace on the nets, tying a career-high with two solo blocks and setting a new personal-best with eight block assists. 2000 OVC Freshman of the Year Emily Scannell handed out a career-high 80 assists. Lori Lange rounded out the Otahks' record-setting efforts with a career-high 20 digs while tying her own mark for block assists with five.
UNC was led by Simpson's 25 kills. Buchholz chipped in 19 kills and Nicole Reis added 10.
Southeast head coach Cindy Gannon was extremely proud of her troop, which was participating in only its second five-game match of the season.
"I just wanted to express how extremely proud I am of my team," beamed Gannon. "I just explained to them how they have been over-achievers all year and they have never let me down."
North Carolina head coach Joe Sagula, who saw his squad post a 5-2 record in five-game matches this season, was impressed with Southeast's tenacity.
"I think Southeast Missouri came out and played well," stated Sagula, whose squad ends its season at 26-8 overall. "They were very aggressive. Our team came out a little sluggish. We continued to play like that, usually they turn it around. It was a little disappointing, but we had a great year and we're happy with our season. We wish the best for Southeast Missouri State the best for tomorrow's night match.
The 23-8 Otahks will face 10th-ranked and Pacific Region number four seed host Florida (28-4) in Saturday's second-round action, which gets underway at 7 p.m. Eastern time. The SEC-champion Gators earned the right to face Southeast with a 3-0 blanking of Sun Belt champion Arkansas-Little Rock in Friday's second first-round contest.
