The defending OVC Champion Skyhawk Volleyball team soared to a 3-1 victory Tuesday in their home opener at the Skyhawk Field House. The team now moves to 6-3 on the year and 2-0 in the OVC.

The Skyhawks came out on fire early in the first game running up the score at 16-10 UTM when SIU called their first timeout of the night.

The timeout seemed to spur on the 'hawks more as they ran the score to 22-14 when SIU Coach Sonya Locke called their second timeout of the night.

The Salukis came out swinging, but it was too late; the Skyhawks coasted to a 30-19 final in game one.

In game two, it seemed the Salukis had answered the call and started to gain momentum.

Led by teammate Kristie Kemner, SIU scored point after point, taking the game to a 21-13 lead. At that point, UTM Coach Chris Rushing called a timeout to rally the troops.

The Skyhawks came out and outscored the Salukis 9-3, before an SIU timeout. The Salukis came back into the game and managed to hold off the 'hawks to win game two by the score of 30-24 SIU.

"We started strong, but I think we got a little cocky," said Rushing. "We wanted come out strong."

I don't know what Rushing told his team at the break, but it definitely worked.

The Skyhawks came out in game three and took a 15-8 lead before a timeout by SIU. The timeout didn't seem to stall UTM, though.

They went on a run of shots and kills, forcing Locke to call another SIU timeout.

The first timeout didn't stall the Skyhawk offensive, and the second just intensified it. UTM went on a 5-1 run, devastating the Salukis in game three 30-15.

With the match on the line and a 2-1 SIU deficit, the Salukis had no intention of going quietly into the night.

The dogs from Carbondale narrowed a one time eight point gap to 26-21. Rushing called a timeout to gather the team's strength and put away SIU, but the Salukis put up a fight.

SIU seemingly matched point for point with the Skyhawks trying to gain the upper hand and force a fifth game.

The 'hawks had other plans and put the game and match away with a final score of 30-28 UTM.

The Skyhawks were lead offensively by Senior Outside Hitter Natalie Klevan, with 20 kills on 38 attacks; Senior Middle Hitter Rachel Ahlers, with 15 kills on 26 attacks; and Senior Setter Lindsey Vicknair, with 54 assists and three service aces.

Senior Libero Stefanie Dubach lead the defensive effort with 16 digs.

"If we put up these types of numbers, we can win every match," said Rushing. "Our team has really played well and playing strong teams in the beginning of the season has really helped us out."

The Skyhawks next OVC game will be played against Coach Dave Schwepker and his Murray State Racers at Murray.

Late Scores

As of press time the UTM Skyhawks had just beaten the ASU Indians 3-1 in Jonesboro, Ark.

Game 1: 28-30 ASU Game 2: 30-22 UTM Game 3: 30-25 UTM Game 4: 30-27 UTM

Senior Outside Hitter Natalie Klevan led the team with 14 kills, with teamate Sophomore Leigh Reiniche following with 11 kills.