Redshirt freshman Jamie Hollins put together a solid match to help lead the Skyhawk volleyball team to a 3-0 win over Southeast Missouri State on Friday night.

Three days after setting a career high for digs with 24, Hollins collected 12 against SEMO and added 14 kills while hitting .429 for the match.

In the first game, the Skyhawks fell behind early but were able to rally thanks to key kills from Kathryn Sprague and Leigh Reiniche and service errors committed by SEMO.

The two teams alternated leads with neither able to gain a comfortable cushion.

Following a timeout, the Skyhawks gained momentum and turned a 14-13 deficit into a 31-29 win.

Game two saw UTM jump to an early lead, only to see SEMO surge ahead, forcing another Skyhawk timeout.

Once play resumed, the teams continued to battle evenly, with neither able to claim a clear advantage. The last of several runs by the Skyhawks closed out SEMO by a score of 30-28.

The theme of close, competitive play continued in the third and final game as the teams began by alternating points.

The game featured several ties, and neither team could claim a clear advantage until the Skyhawks followed a SEMO timeout with a scoring run to take a 26-22 lead.

Junior Rebecca Palmer collected six kills in the game as the Skyhawks prevailed, 30-24, to complete the sweep.

UTM outhit SEMO, .196 to .152 for the match and had 11 team blocks.

Head coach Chris Rushing was pleased with his team’s performance.

“Overall it is nice to see the team mature together,” Rushing said. “We were unable to finish matches early in the season and win the close matches. Now we are fighting to the finish.” The Skyhawks improved their record to 8-11 on the season and 5-4 in the OVC.

The loss dropped SEMO’s record to 5-14 on the season and 4-5 in the OVC.