UT MARTIN VOLLEYBALL LOOKS TO CLINCH OVC TOURNAMENT SPOT DURING FINAL WEEK OF REGULAR SEASON

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MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team will try to solidify an entry into the Ohio Valley Conference tournament this week as it hosts Southeast Missouri on Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. before heading to Tennessee Tech in the regular season finale at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10.

Heading into the final week of the regular season, the Skyhawks are part of a four-way tie alongside Tennessee Tech, Eastern Illinois and Belmont for eighth place in the league standings. The top eight teams qualify for the league's annual postseason tournament, which will be held on Nov. 15-19 in either Clarksville, Tenn. or Murray, Ky.

UT Martin (12-16, 5-9 OVC) will look to shake off a tough home weekend as the Skyhawks fell in a pair of close matchups against Eastern Illinois (19-25, 25-23, 19-25, 25-17, 11-15) and SIUE (21-25, 25-13, 35-37, 26-28). Brooke Gyori and Justine Walker solidified the defense with 6.78 digs and 1.56 blocks per set, respectively. Gintare Mackeviciute also had a big weekend for UT Martin, dialing up 2.78 kills per set on a remarkable .468 attack percentage out of the middle blocker position.

With her big defensive weekend, Gyori overtook the top spot in the OVC in digs per set (5.18). She needs just 15 more digs to become only the third player in school history to record at least 600 digs in a single season, joining UT Martin Hall of Famer Kasey Elswick (2010, 2011, 2012) and Anna Gautreau (2007).

The Skyhawks hold a 16-11 advantage in all-time home matches against Southeast Missouri and has won five straight home matchups in the series - having not lost since 2012. UT Martin is out to avenge an Oct. 2 loss to the Redhawks in Cape Girardeau (23-25, 23-25, 25-14, 18-25) – a match that saw Megan Fair (10 kills, 17 digs) and Kenzie Hinshaw (29 assists, 13 digs) each record double-doubles. Hannah Phillips also boasted a team-high 13 kills while Gyori collected a team-best 18 digs in that contest.

Southeast Missouri is 16-11 overall and 8-6 in league play after defeating both SIUE (25-15, 25-23, 22-25, 31-29) and Eastern Illinois (25-21, 26-28, 25-21, 25-13) in four sets over the weekend. Annie Wehrheim enjoyed a big weekend for the Redhawks, slamming down 5.0 kills per set – including a 22-kill performance on a .340 attack percentage against Eastern Illinois. Claire Ochs divvied out 10.63 assists per set for a Southeast Missouri offense that hit .207 in the two matches.

The lone OVC team that the Skyhawks have yet to face in 2018 is Tennessee Tech (11-17, 5-9 OVC). The Golden Eagles snapped a four-match losing skid with a pair of wins last weekend, defeating Tennessee State (25-21, 25-19, 25-18) and Belmont (22-25, 25-19, 24-26, 27-25, 15-12) on the road. Erica Grant (team-high 3.25 kills per set), Ali Verzani (two double-doubles) and Susie Jeziorowski (10.38 assists per set) paced Tennessee Tech in the weekend sweep.

Saturday's match can be viewed live, free of charge, on the OVC Digital Network. That link - in addition to links for live stats of both matches this weekend - is located at the top of the webpage.

UT MARTIN VOLLEYBALL LOOKS TO CLINCH OVC TOURNAMENT SPOT DURING FINAL WEEK OF REGULAR SEASON

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Players Mentioned

Megan Fair

Brooke Gyori

Kenzie Hinshaw

Gintare Mackeviciute

Hannah Phillips

Justine Walker