Colonels outplay the visiting Skyhawks by 3-1: Volleyball News
Taking full advantage of their home turf, the women’s volleyball team of Eastern Kentucky prevailed over the University of Tennessee Skyhawks in a Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) match on Friday, September 23. The McBraver Sports Arena in Richmond, Kentucky
hosted the match, where ET Colonels emerged as winners. They dropped one frame to the Skyhawks but earned a points by claiming the remaining three sets. The final scores of the match was 3-1 (25-21, 19-25, 25-15, 25-23). The conference victory enabled the
Eastern side to improve to 7-8 record in the 2011 regular season and a 2-2 OVC record.
Freshman Hannah Burkle formed a good partnership with sophomore Ashley Edmond, which proved to be highly beneficial for the hosts. The players added 16 kills apiece and led their team to success. Freshman Dena Ott showed remarkable consistency in reception
and recorded a total of 46 digs in the match, while another three of the Eastern players finished with 10 or more digs.
On the opposite side, Ashley Doherty put up a great effort for UT Martin. She and her team-mate Allie Whimpey were the only Skyhawks, who went into double digit scores as they added 15 and 14 points, respectively. UT Martin’s Kasey Elswick contributed 46
digs and saved many crucial points.
The hosts delighted the home fans with an exquisite display of volleyball in the opening set. They served well, attacked aggressively and demonstrated solid blocks. All in all, Colonels made their presence felt on centre court and took away the first set
of the game. The guest team tried to upset the tempo of the Colonels but failed to do so. The Eastern team secured the opening set with a 4-point lead at 25-21.
Despite the loss of the first set and an early lead for the Colonels in the second set, Skyhawks continued with their spirited effort. Elswick quickly traded places with her team-mates and did not let the ball touch the ground in UT Martin’s half. With excellent
defensive work, Skyhawks managed to win the second set and tied the game score (1-1).
Colonels hit back in the third set and scored nine of the first 10 points. Eastern built up a strong lead and restricted the Skyhawks to a low score. UT Martin was pushed behind and they failed to return in the game. Colonels once again extended their lead
by 2-1 after winning third set.
The fourth set saw level play to 12-11 as the hosts were only one point ahead of their opponent. Nevertheless, the big boom came when EKU went on a 10-2 run and jumped to a 21-14 lead. Skyhawks came a long way to tie the score at 22-all but could not avoid
the defeat in fourth set. They dropped the last set with a narrow gap of two points and finished with a 1-3 defeat.
The Colonels will return to action in the next week, when they will take on hosts Eastern Illinois on September 30. The Skyhaws, on the other hand, will try their chances against Morehead State this Saturday, September 24.
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