The UTM volleyball team climbed to fifth place in the Ohio Valley Conference over the weekend, picking up victories against Murray and Morehead State, while dropping three games to Eastern Kentucky.

The Skyhawks won game one and two against the Racers, 30-14. Murray State won game three, 31-29, but the Skyhawks claimed the match with a 30-20 win in game four.

Senior Leigh Reiniche led the Skyhawks with 15 kills, 10 digs and a .324 hitting percentage. Redshirt Dimphy Sasse recorded 10 kills, while freshman Kathryn Sprague racked up 12 kills and a team-high .579 hitting percentage.

Murray State was led by Kimberly Bunnage with 10 kills and 14 digs. Ashley Meageher piled up 40 assists in the match. The Racers claimed a 31-29 win in game three to force game four. The win also denied the Skyhawks their second consecutive 3-0 sweep.

The Skyhawks saw their hitting percentage plummet from .321 to .133 in the third game.

Murray State raced to a 6-4 lead in game three. However the game was tied at 6-all, 7-all, 11-all and 13-all. The Skyhawks forged ahead 22-19, but Murray State tied the game again at 29-29.

The Skyhawks trailed early in the second game, but regrouped to take a 30-14 win. The Skyhawks combined for five service aces in the second game. Shelby Knose led the way with four, while Heather Grumke added one.

The Skyhawks claimed the first game 30-14. Sprague turned in a .800 hitting percentage to lead the Skyhawks. The Skyhawks recorded 16 kills in the game compared to Murray State’s six kills.

The Skyhawks had 14 team blocks and hit .303 in the match. Murray State managed four team blocks in the match and hit .050.

After the weekend series against Morehead and EKU, the Skyhawks found themselves in fifth place in the OVC.

The Skyhawks sport a 4-4 OVC won-loss record and are 7-10 overall. The Skyhawks will host Arkansas State Tuesday night in a non-conference match and then host Southeast Missouri State Friday night and Eastern Illinois Saturday night. All three matches start at 7 p.m., in Skyhawk Fieldhouse.

Southeast Missouri also sports a 4-4 OVC record, while Eastern Illinois is 8-0 in the league and tied for first with Eastern Kentucky.

The Skyhawks rattled off their fifth consecutive win of the season Friday night when they defeated host Morehead State 3-1. The Skyhawks won game one 30-23, lost game two 30-22; won game three 30-16 and sealed the victory with a 30-27 win in game four.

Despite a .160 hitting percentage, the Skyhawks were able to hand Morehead State only its second conference loss of the season.

Freshman Kahryn Sprague led the Skyhawks with 12 kills, a .455 hitting percentage and 16 total points. The Skyhawks had 14 team blocks in the match.

Morehead State was led by Casie Garland with a .357 hitting percentage and 45 assists and 15 digs The Skyhawks suffered a 3-0 loss Saturday afternoon against host Eastern Kentucky. EKU won game one 30-24 and game two 30-19.

The Skyhawks came close to forcing a four game, but came away short as EKU posted a 30-28 win in the third game. Sprague led the Skyhawks with a .467 hitting percentage, while Tammy Konitzer led the Skyhawks with 16 digs in the match. EKU was led by Lesley Aldridge with a .262 hitting percentage and 17 kills and 14 digs.