Skyhawk Fieldhouse was the place to be this weekend as the UTM volleyball team played two of its best matches of the season, sweeping Morehead State on Friday and dropping a five-game decision to OVC leader Eastern Kentucky on Saturday.

The Skyhawks entered the weekend with the intent of building on their victory over Tennessee Tech in their last match.

Sophomore Jamie Hollins set a new UTM record on Friday as she served four consecutive aces in the first game against the Eagles, helping the Skyhawks post an early 6-0 lead. The Eagles couldn’t get anything going offensively early on, and the lead quickly grew to 11-2. Midway through the game, MSU went on a run to make the game close, eventually tying the score at 14. However, they were unable to overcome the 12 errors they committed in the game.

Although the score remained close, the Skyhawks’ lead was never in danger as they took the game, 30-25. Junior libero Tammy Konitzer had six digs in the game for the Skyhawks, and Hollins added another ace to finish with five.

The Skyhawks were out hit in the game, .048 to .031 but benefited from the Eagles’ errors. Sophomore Dimphy Sasse led the team with a .667 hitting percentage.

Each team controlled game two at different times, but the Skyhawks finished with a flurry of points to steal a 30-26 win. The Eagles led from the start until sophomore middle Kathryn Sprague gave the Skyhawks their first lead at 8-7.

The Skyhawks refused to let a large deficit keep them down, much like in their previous match against Tech. After Sprague’s kill, MSU rallied for a 14-9 lead, but the Skyhawks answered with an 8-3 run to knot the score at 17.

The Skyhawks took the lead, 19-18, to force an MSU timeout, and held the lead until an error put the Eagles on top, 25-24. The Skyhawks then scored six of the final seven points to win the game. UTM rebounded from their dismal hitting in game one to record a .323 percentage in game two, while holding MSU to .062. MSU was again plagued by errors, committing 13 to the Skyhawks’ 2.

At the start of game three, the Skyhawks appeared to be in control as they jumped to a 4-0 lead, but it was short-lived. MSU tied the score at five and then took the lead, forcing a UTM timeout with the score 15-12.

Following the timeout, the Skyhawks’ struggles continued as the deficit doubled. Then, the team once again displayed the resilient style of play that had recently characterized them. A resounding spike by sophomore middle Sarah Jett, one of her five kills in the match, reduced the deficit to 24-21 and forced the Eagles to take a timeout.

The break in the action did nothing to halt the Skyhawks’ momentum as they tied the score at 27 and went on to win, 30-27.

“I was proud of the way our team played in the third game,” Jett said. “We came back and played well and got our stuff together. Our first sweep… it felt great. We haven’t had that feeling all year and we were able to do it in our home gym in front of friends and it was great,” she said.

“We were really impressed with our defense,” said Skyhawks assistant coach Angela Langford. “Our girls took what we told them to do and executed. We’re very proud of them. We knew we were this good all year, but we needed to get it together. This proves that we’ve gotten it together and we can definitely build on this for next year,” Langford said.

The Skyhawks’ match against EKU was not one for the faint of heart. With the exception of the fourth game, all of the games were decided by two points, including a marathon second game that saw the Lady Colonels outlast the Skyhawks by an amazing score of 38-36.

The Skyhawks fell behind at the start of game two, but rebounded behind the serves of Konitzer. With Konitzer serving, the Skyhawks pulled even with the Lady Colonels at 16 and continued a 6-0 run to grab an 18-16 advantage. Every time the Lady Colonels claimed a lead, the Skyhawks answered and tied the score. Palmer provided kills to tie the game at 31 and again at 32. After the teams alternated several more points, the Lady Colonels came away with the dramatic win. Palmer led the Skyhawks with six kills and seven digs. Sprague hit .714 in the game to lead all players.

The Skyhawks won the previous game to extend their winning streak to seven games, dating back to the Tennessee Tech match. The Skyhawks had to rally late in the game from a 27-25 deficit but held on for a 31-29 win to open the match.

The third game was close throughout, with neither team leading by more than three points. EKU forced a Skyhawk timeout holding a 9-6 advantage, but then allowed the Skyhawks to take a 13-12 lead.

Every time the Skyhawks fell behind, they were able to tie the game due to EKU errors. Down the stretch, the Skyhawks tied the game twice, at 26 and again at 28. An emphatic kill by Sasse put them on top, 30-29, and they added another point for another 31-29 win.

EKU took over in the second half of game four when the Skyhawks seemed to fall apart. They made several mistakes and were unable to develop any rhythm. EKU broke a tie with a 7-0 run to lead, 16-9, and soon pushed the lead to double figures. The final score was 30-20. EKU held UTM to .023 hitting and forced nine Skyhawk errors while only committing four themselves. Several Skyhawks finished the game with two kills each.

With their game four victory providing the momentum, EKU jumped out to an early lead in game five. But the Skyhawks again found ways to tie the score whenever they fell behind. The game remained close throughout, and a late EKU service error tied the game at 13 to set up an exciting finish. Unfortunately, the first-place Lady Colonels scored the final two points of the game to spoil the Skyhawks’ upset bid, 15-13.

“I was very impressed with the way we played,” said freshman outside hitter Randi Wooldridge. “Earlier in the season we lost to them in three and I think we stepped up and showed a lot of heart.”

“We’ve learned a lot and come a long way,” added freshman Breanne Carey.

“I feel like we gave 100 percent every game,” Sprague said.

“Coach was confident in us and pushed us heading into that last game,” said sophomore setter Shelby Knose.

The team will travel to Jacksonville State and Samford this weekend before closing out their home schedule against Murray State on November 10.