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Volleyball team downs Trevecca for fifth consecutive win


The Skyhawk volleyball team overcame a rare indoor weather delay and breezed past Trevecca 3-0 last Tuesday to record its fifth consecutive victory in the young season.

Play came to a halt briefly during the second game with the Skyhawks holding a 7-0 lead because water was dripping from the ceiling beyond the playing court.

The stoppage in play proved to be nothing more than a nuisance as the home team picked up right where they left off. Dimphy Sasse pounded an ace to give the Skyhawks a 10-2 lead.

Trevecca failed to hit even .000 in either of the first two games, turning in a percentage of -.049 in the first game and -.129 in the second game. They improved to hit straight zeroes in the final game. Despite their poor hitting, the visitors hung around in the first game. The Skyhawks claimed an early lead in the game but committed crucial errors that helped their opponents stay within striking distance. At times, they hurt themselves by being out of position and lacked communication.

With her team trailing 14-12, Coach Amy Draper called a timeout to settle them. The girls responded exactly as planned, quickly pulling even at 14 on a kill by sophomore outside hitter Taylor Noland. Still, the action remained even between the two teams through the next several points.

The pivotal moment in the match occurred when junior middle Sarah Jett sent the ball hurtling to the floor with an emphatic spike. Jett’s dramatic play gave the Skyhawks an 18-16 lead and her emotional reaction inspired her teammates to improve their effort. From that point, the Skyhawks outscored the deflated Trojans 12-2 to take the first game by a score of 30-18.

The start of the second game resembled the end of the previous game as the Skyhawks scored the first seven points behind the service game of Jamie Hollins. The scoring run included an ace by Hollins and kills by Dimphy Sasse and Lauren Montague, along with two Trevecca errors.

Even after the brief stoppage in play the Skyhawks lost no momentum. Once play resumed, a Kathryn Sprague kill and consecutive aces by Sasse extended the lead to 10-2. Consecutive errors by the visitors pushed the advantage to as much as 14-2 before they finally scored their third point.

After that point, though, Jett recorded three straight aces to stop any chance of a comeback. The Skyhawks took the game by a score of 30-10.

The Skyhawks hit .500 as a team in the second game. Jett led the team with four kills.

The final game began just as the previous two had, with the Skyhawks claiming the first three points. This time, however, Trevecca fought back to even the score at five points apiece. Then it was Jett’s moment to shine again. With the score deadlocked at six, she slammed home another point to put the Skyhawks on top by one. She then repeated that action to break a 7-7 tie and put her team ahead to stay.

“Sarah Jett is a finesse player. If she gets a big kill it can really help our momentum and it can really take away from the other team,” said UTM head coach Amy Draper.

“I think this team, regardless of where we are, what game or what point, they are always giving their maximum effort. I think that is going to help us as the season goes on. They are not going to back down when they see that things are going well,” Draper said.

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MEGHAN GREEN/The Pacer

UTM junior middle Sarah Jett prepares to spike the ball during last Tuesday’s match against Trevecca last Tuesday at the Skyhawk Fieldhouse. Jett had nine kills in the match, second on the team behind Kathryn Sprague.