UTM felt the wrath of several injuries and Morehead State last Friday night as the visiting Lady Eagles claimed a 3-0 win over the Skyhawks.

Morehead State claimed the first two games, 31-29 and 30-21. In game three, the Skyhawks showed signs of progress as they rattled off a five-point run to take an 18-13 lead.

Morehead State answered the rally and claimed the game and match with a 30-24 win.

Skyhawk junior setter Maribeth Hanneman injured her ankle in the first game and junior Leigh Reniche missed the game because of a personal family commitment.

The Skyhawks hit .114 in the match, while Morehead State hit .160.

Morehead State was led by Jennifer Kennedy with 11 kills and 13 digs. Cherelle Lampkins also turned in a double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs.

The Skyhawks were led by senior Heather Kea with 10 kills and 16 digs.

Sophomore Rebecca Palmer turned in a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs. She also recorded a solo block in the match. She leads the Skyhawks with 10 solos this season.

On Saturday, the Skyhawks sent a message to the teams in the OVC. The message, simple, but to the point: Don’t count us out.

Eastern Kentucky escaped the friendly confines of UTM’s Skyhawk Fieldhouse with a 3-2 win, but it took that simple message to heart.

“We almost picked off one of this season’s top OVC teams,” said Chris Rushing, UTM’s head volleyball coach. “Eastern Kentucky is a very good team, but we showed we can compete, and we are still looking forward to picking up a few more wins to get into the OVC tournament.”

With eight OVC matches to play, the Skyhawks are stilling trying to land among the six top teams in the league and advance to postseason play.

The Skyhawks are 2-6 in the OVC and 4-19 overall, while EKU is 6-2 in the league and 15-8 overall.

EKU won game one 30-22, but UTM won game two 30-28. In game three, EKU claimed a 30-19 win, but once again the Skyhawks recovered to win game four 30-27. EKU grabbed the match with a 15-11 win in game five.

UTM seniors Heather Kea and Jamie Fitzwater turned in double-doubles to lead the Skyhawks. Kea had a personal best 26 kills and 75 kill attempts, but were good enough to make the Skyhawks’ record book.

Fitzwater had 17 kills and 20 digs. Sophomore Rebecca Palmer also posted a double-double with 17 kills and 20 digs. She had 74 kill attempts. The 17 kills and the 74 kill attempts are both personal bests for the Chicago-area native.

Freshman Trish Schroeder also turned in a personal best with 53 assists.

“I’m real proud of our team today,” Rushing said. “I’m proud of the way they fought to the finish. We showed a lot of heart.”

The Skyhawks begin a five-match road swing beginning tonight at Southeast Missouri State. The OVC slate continues tomorrow at Eastern Illinois.