On Saturday, Nov. 8, the Skyhawk volleyball team finally broke an eight game losing streak by defeating OVC foe, the Tennessee State University Tigers.

This win puts the Skyhawks at a 6-24 record overall and moves them to 4-10 record in the conference. This defeat puts the Tigers at 7-22 overall while making them 1-12 in the conference.

The Skyhawks defeated TSU 3-1 to end their losing streak. The Skyhawks were led by seniors Heather Kea and Jamie Fitzwater.

Kea led the team offensively with 19 kills and 16 digs while Fitzwater had 16 kills and 20 digs. This gave them both double-doubles.

Sophomore Rebecca Palmer added 14 kills and 15 digs, and freshman Tammy Konitzer had 1 kills and 15 digs. This left the Skyhawks with four players having double-doubles in the game.

The TSU Tigers were led by Jennifer Coral who finished the day with 22 kills and 10 digs.

Because many of the players had little or no experience at the collegiate level, the Skyhawks have struggled with consistency this year.

“I don’t care how we got the win, it is just nice to pull it out,” said head coach Chris Rushing.

“We had some inexperience on the floor, but it will be exciting for the future as we become stronger and smarter.”

The Skyhawks look to return all but three players next year.

“With us having four players with double-doubles and barely pulling out the win shows how well TSU played,” said Rushing,
“In the six years I have been here this is the best TSU team I have seen.”

As of right now, the Skyhawks sit in 10th place in the OVC standings with two conference match-ups left.

They will take on Eastern Illinois at 7 p.m. tonight in the Fieldhouse. Eastern Illinois sits at 5-9 in the conference. This makes them one place above the Skyhawks.

The Skyhawks will finish their regular season when they play Southeast Missouri State at 2 p.m. tomorrow in the Fieldhouse. SEMO sits at fourth place in the conference with a record of 10-4 in the conference.

Come out and support the Skyhawks as they close out their regular season with two home matches this weekend.