Eastern Illinois claimed its second road win of the season last Friday night as it defeated host UTM 3-2 in OVC volleyball action at Skyhawk Fieldhouse.

UTM led early in game five, but Eastern Illinois tied the game at 10-10 and claimed a 15-11 win.

UTM won game one 30-19, while EIU won game two 30-19. The Skyhawks claimed game three 30-17, but dropped game four 30-24.

The Skyhawks had four players post double-doubles in the match. Senior Heather Kea led the team with 14 kills and 20 digs, while junior Leigh Reiniche had 18 kills and 12 digs. Sophomore Rebecca Palmer recorded 12 kills and 18 digs, while senior Jamie Fitzwater had 10 kills and 13 digs.

It’s the second consecutive match where four Skyhawks turned in double-digit kills and double-digit digs.

EIU was led by Erica Gerth with 16 kills and 10 digs and Mary Welch with 18 kills and 14 digs.

In an evenly played game four, EIU won 30-24 and also claimed the hitting percentage battle .143 to .070.

The Skyhawks came back from recognizing seniors during the break to win game three, 30-17. They hit .440 in the game and piled up 15 kills. EIU hit .103 in the game and managed 11 kills. EIU won game two 30-19, turning the table on the Skyhawks with a .371 hitting percentage. The Skyhawks hitting mark plummeted to .028. EIU piled up 16 kills in the second game compared to the Skyhawks’ nine.

The Skyhawks used a 17-6 run to cruise to a 30-19 win in game one. The Skyhawks hit a whopping .333 compared to EIU’s .182. Reiniche led the Skyhawks with six kills and a .500 hitting percentage, while Kea hit .429 with four kills. The Skyhawks won the blocking game 4-1 in game one.

The Skyhawk volleyball team ended their 2003 season on a very positive note last Saturday with a 3-1 win over visiting Southeast Missouri State. This win moved the Skyhawks to a 7-25 overall record while giving them a 5-11 OVC record.

The Skyhawks got the 3-1 win by winning game one 30-23, dropping game two 30-25 and winning game three 30-25. In the fourth game, the Skyhawks won the match with a 30-23 victory.

The Skyhawks were led offensively by sophomore Rebecca Palmer who had 17 kills and a .438 hitting percentage. Reiniche also had 17 kills with a .316 hitting percentage and led defensively with 19 digs.

As a team, the Skyhawks ended with a .247 hitting percentage, eight service aces, and 13 blocks. Suzanne Gundlach led SEMO with 14 kills and 10 digs. As a team, SEMO hit .159 in the match.

SEMO finishes the regular season with an 11-18 overall record and third in the OVC. SEMO will meet Murray State (15-11) in the first round of the OVC tournament Thursday, Nov. 20, at Morehead State.

The Skyhawks made use of the return of juniors Maribeth Hanneman and Reiniche. Both players returned to the court for the final two matches this weekend after being out most of the season battling injuries.

For Coach Chris Rushing, this win was also a great moment for him. It gave him his 100th career win as head coach of the UTM volleyball team. Rushing has a 100-82 record at UTM and a .549 winning percentage in six years as the head of the Skyhawks.

This win was positive for both the coach and the team as they end a season filled with injuries and inexperience.

The Skyhawks look forward to coming back strong next season in search of their next OVC championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.