SKYHAWK VOLLEYBALL HANGS ON FOR GUTSY 3-2 OVC VICTORY OVER TENNESSEE STATE

Friday, October 19

Martin, Tenn.

6 P.M.

UT Martin

10-12 (4-5OVC)

Tennessee State

7-13 (5-4OVC)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Tennessee State	21	18	26	25	11	2
UT Martin	25	25	24	23	15	3

SKYHAWK VOLLEYBALL HANGS ON FOR GUTSY 3-2 OVC VICTORY OVER TENNESSEE STATE

10/19/2018 9:28:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

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MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team claimed the first two sets before outlasting the visiting Tennessee State Tigers in a five-set triumph (25-21, 25-18, 24-26, 23-25, 15-11) at Skyhawk Fieldhouse.

UT Martin improved to 10-12 overall with a 4-5 Ohio Valley Conference mark after emerging victorious for the second match in a row. The Skyhawk offense hit .228 for the evening while holding a 9-0 advantage in service aces.

Kenzie Hinshaw had 30 assists, 10 digs and five kills – four of which came in the final two sets – to help UT Martin to the finish line. Megan Fair snagged a double-double with 13 kills and 13 digs while Hannah Phillips (career-high 19 kills) and Brooke Gyori (match-high 29 digs) also turned in remarkable performances for the Skyhawks.

Service aces were the key to UT Martin's success in the initial set, as the Skyhawks placed five aces in the opening stanza alone. Walker delivered UT Martin's first service ace of the night to make the score 9-5 in favor of the Skyhawks. Tennessee State (7-13, 5-4 OVC) charged back to briefly take a 19-18 lead but UT Martin concluded the set on a 7-2 run with three of those points coming via service aces. Maddi Noble handed out a team-high seven assists as the Skyhawks hit .343 in the first set.

UT Martin sided out at an amazing 94 percent clip (17-of-18) in the second set. The Skyhawks opened up a 5-2 lead early on before pushing their advantage out to 12-6 behind a Gintare Mackeviciute solo block. The Tigers whittled their deficit to 22-17 but UT Martin dialed up four of the last five points of the stanza, bookended by a pair of Karen Scanlon kills. Gyori provided 10 digs to help the Skyhawks take a 2-0 lead in the match.

UT Martin led for a majority of the third set before Tennessee State unreeled a late rally. The Skyhawks were ahead by a 15-10 margin before a Justine Walker service ace made the score 23-20 in UT Martin's favor. The Tigers scored the next three points but the Skyhawks had mactch point following a Jamie Rys kill that made the score 24-23. However, Tennessee State bounced back for the final three points of the stanza. Rys, Phillips and Walker shared the team lead with three kills apiece.

The fourth set began with three unanswered points by the Tigers but UT Martin clawed back to tie the score at 11-all following three consecutive Tennessee State attack errors. That was the first of 12 ties in the set, including a 23-23 deadlock following a Hinshaw kill. The Tigers answered back with back-to-back kills to force a winner-take-all fifth set. Fair and Phillips each generated five kills in the fourth set.

The Skyhawks fell behind 3-2 in the final set but that was the only time the home team trailed on the scoreboard. A pair of clutch Hinshaw kills began and ended a 5-1 UT Martin surge and resulted in a 7-4 Skyhawk lead. The Tigers would claw back to even the set as late as 10-10 but Mackeviciute took over, accounting for two kills and two assisted blocks during UT Martin's match-ending 5-1 run. Fair corralled eight digs in the shortened fifth set.

The Skyhawks go for their third consecutive victory tomorrow when they play host to the Belmont Bruins. First serve from Skyhawk Fieldhouse is set for 2 p.m.