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UTM ends season at number one


Tennessee-Martin closed out its volleyball regular season with a 3-0 victory over visiting Tennessee Tech Friday night at Skyhawk Fieldhouse. An emotional crowd of more than 400 watched the Skyhawks win game one 30-19, game two 30-16 and game three 30-17.

“I think we have been playing real well the last couple of weeks,” said UT Martin head volleyball coach Chris Rushing. “When we carry this momentum into the OVC tournament next week we have unfinished business.” The Skyhawks enter the postseason tournament for the second consecutive year as the top seed. A year ago, the Skyhawks won their semifinal match, but lost to Eastern Illinois in the championship match.

“At the end of last season we were pretty crushed when we didn’t win the championship. Within hours of that loss the girls began to focus on this season and winning the tournament.” The Skyhawks had no trouble closing out the season with a 3-0 win. Stephanie Bauer led the team with a .533 hitting percentage. Rachel Ahlers and Lindsey Stock each had 12 kills in the match.

“It’s great winning the regular season championship because it shows we can get the job done over a period of the season,” Rushing said. “Anybody that has a hot weekend can win the tournament, why not us. It’s at home, we’re ready to do it, and we have confidence going into it.” The Skyhawks finished with a 15-1 Ohio Valley Conference record and a 22-5 regular season worksheet. The lone OVC loss was to Southeast Missouri.

“We could have lost tonight to Tech and still won the championship, but we were focused because it was senior night,” Rushing said. “The seniors wanted to go out and finish strong.”

The Tennessee-Martin seniors include Bauer, Stock, Rachel Ahlers, Natalie Klevan, Stefanie Dubach and Lindsey Vicknair. The OVC tournament is set for Nov. 21-23. The Skyhawks will enjoy a first round bye and play at 7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 22. The tournament championship match gets under way at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23. All matches will be played in Skyhawk Fieldhouse.