The Skyhawk volleyball squad was unstoppable during their final two games of the regular season, pulling off sweeps against conference foes Eastern Illinois (EIU) and Southern Illinois – Edwardsville (SIUE) on Nov. 15 and 16, respectively.
The Skyhawks made short work of the Panthers on Friday, taking all three stanzas by scores of 25-23, 25-20, and 25-21. The win set a new record for conference wins in a season for head coach Jaclynn Wilson, with team ultimately winning nine Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) matchups on the year, according to Sports Information.
Senior middle-blocker (MB) Gintare Mackeviciute (10 kills) and sophomore outside-hitter (OH) Logan Wallick (11 kills) paved the way for a red-hot Skyhawk offense that recorded a .226 hitting percentage.
Defensively, the Skyhawks had several standout players that contributed to UTM’s sweep. Freshman defensive specialist (DS) Lucy Kaufman (9) and freshman libero Kayla Long (8) combined for a total of 17 digs, while junior MB/opposite (OPP) Justine Walker recorded three blocks.
The first two stanzas of the EIU matchup came down to the wire, as the Skyhawks managed to break a 23-all tie in the first and 18-17 margin in the second to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
In stanza three, the Skyhawks got out to a 12-9 advantage and went on a 6-1 run to ultimately finish off the Panthers.
The win put the Skyhawks above .500 in OVC play for the first time this season with a 8-7 record – a record that would be improved the next day against the Cougars.
The Skyhawks extended their win streak to match their season-best of three, which the team managed against Florida International, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Gardner-Webb from Aug. 31 – Sept. 6.
UTM faced more resistance against SIUE, with the Skyhawks having to pull off comeback wins in the first and second stanzas, but ultimately scraping out wins of 25-21, 26-24 and 25-23.
Wallick once again stood out for the Skyhawks on offense, recording a match-high 13 kills. Sophomore MB/OH Karen Scanlon tallied 11 kills of her own to go along with a .300 hitting percentage.
Hinshaw’s effort also proved invaluable as she put up a double-double with 32 assists and 16 digs. Kaufman also recorded a career-best 22 digs, according to Sports Information.
Despite the Cougars scoring seven of the first eight points in the first stanza, the Skyhawks rallied and ended the set on a 12-4 run.
In the second stanza, the Skyhawks pulled of another comeback to set up a down-to-the-wire third stanza that featured a 22-all tie, but kills by Scanlon and Walker capped off the UTM sweep.
With the win, the Skyhawks finished the regular season with a 13-19 overall record but a positive OVC record of 9-7. The Skyhawks will return to action on Nov. 21 as the No. 6 seed in the OVC playoffs against No. 3 Murray State.
