UT MARTIN VOLLEYBALL PROUDLY HOSTS FIVE-TEAM SKYHAWK INVITATIONAL THIS WEEK

Skyhawk Invitational Tournament Central

MARTIN, Tenn. – Five teams will compete for a tournament crown this week as the University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball program hosts the Skyhawk Invitational on Aug. 30 through Sept. 2.

UT Martin welcomes Central Arkansas, Florida A&M, Memphis and UAB to Skyhawk Fieldhouse for the four-day, 10-match tournament. Action begins on Thursday, Aug. 30 as UT Martin hosts Central Arkansas at 6 p.m.

Day 2 of the tournament takes place on Friday, Aug. 31 as Florida A&M and Memphis square off at 11 a.m. Central Arkansas plays UAB at 1 p.m. before the Skyhawks host in-state rival Memphis at 5 p.m. UAB and Florida A&M round out the day with a match at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday's action starts at 11 a.m. with a match featuring Memphis and Central Arkansas. UT Martin is pitted against UAB at 1 p.m. while Florida A&M/Central Arkansas and UAB/Memphis follow at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively.

The Skyhawk Invitational wraps up on Sunday, Sept. 2 as UT Martin takes on Florida A&M at 11 a.m.

The Skyhawks enter their home tournament with a 1-2 overall record after competing in the Cardinal Classic in Louisville, Ky. last weekend. Brooke Gyori picked up all-tournament accolades after averaging 5.33 digs per set while Gintare Mackeviciute (team-best 3.17 kills and 0.58 blocks per set) and Kenzie Hinshaw (8.75 assists and 2.42 digs per set) also helped guide UT Martin.

Central Arkansas went 3-0 during the season's opening weekend, sweeping the Wildcat Classic hosted by Davidson. The defending Southland Conference champions were led offensively by Haley Tippett (3.25 kills per set) and Elizabeth Armstrong (9.75 assists per set) while the Sugar Bear defense was paced by Emily Doss (3.83 digs per set) and Savanah Allen (1.17 blocks per set).

Florida A&M is looking for its first win of the 2018 campaign after falling in all three matches in the FIU Invitational last weekend. Maria Yvett Garcia led the Rattlers with 3.27 kills per set while Ilayda Nurkan (5.67 assists per set) and Elena Dimitrova (4.36 assists per set) shared setter duties. Valentina Carrasco and Aybuke Kocabiyak guided the Rattler defense with 5.00 digs and 1.18 blocks per set, respectively.

Memphis hosted its own tournament last weekend, going 1-2 in that span. Offensively, the Tigers were carried by Hannah Flowers' 2.56 kills per set and Molly Murrihy's 10.67 assists per set. Kaitlyn Gehler (3.33 digs per set) and Kelsey Walter (1.22 blocks per set) rank as the team leaders defensively.

UAB picked up a pair of victories in three tries last weekend at the Cowtown Classic hosted by TCU. Emily Rudolph led the Blazers in kills (2.40 per set) and blocks (1.30 per set) while UAB also received significant contributions out of Shelby Holderfield (9.00 assists per set) and Emily Martinez (2.89 digs per set).

For more information on the Skyhawk Invitational – including links to live stats for each match – visit the tournament central webpage at the link above.

UT MARTIN VOLLEYBALL PROUDLY HOSTS FIVE-TEAM SKYHAWK INVITATIONAL THIS WEEK

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Brooke Gyori

Kenzie Hinshaw

Gintare Mackeviciute