UT MARTIN BATTLES BUT FALLS IN A PAIR OF HARD-FOUGHT MATCHES ON DAY 1 OF WILDCAT CLASSIC

Friday, September 14

Tucson, Ariz.

12 P.M.

UT Martin

6-5

Arizona

9-1

UT Martin

Arizona

UT MARTIN BATTLES BUT FALLS IN A PAIR OF HARD-FOUGHT MATCHES ON DAY 1 OF WILDCAT CLASSIC

9/14/2018 10:46:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Arizona HTML Arizona PDF UC Davis HTML UC Davis PDF

TUCSON, Ariz. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team competed throughout today in its opening day of the Wildcat Classic but the Skyhawks ultimately fell 3-0 to host Arizona (19-25, 14-25, 27-29) and 3-1 in the nightcap to UC Davis (17-25, 22-25, 25-22, 16-25).

Senior libero Brooke Gyori led the way for the Skyhawks (6-6) today, as the Oregon, Ohio native scooped up 35 digs (5.00 per set) on the day. Senior teammate Megan Fair also chipped in a team-best 15 kills (2.14 per set) to go along with 23 digs (3.29 per set) for UT Martin, who also saw sophomore Justine Walker swat away a team-high seven blocks.

The Skyhawks will look to close out the tournament with a victory on Saturday, Sept. 15. UT Martin will take on New Mexico State at noon CST.

Arizona
Gyori (match-high 17 digs) and Kenzie Hinshaw (18 assists, 11 digs) stood out but the Skyhawks hit .000 (27 kills, 27 errors) in its opening match against Arizona (9-1).

Karen Scanlon opened the match with a pair of kills for UT Martin but the Wildcats soon opened up a 15-8 advantage. The Skyhawks would close within three points on two different occasions (15-12, 22-19) but Arizona was able to fend off the UT Martin rally. Scanlon and Fair shared the team lead with three kills apiece in the opening set.

The Skyhawks led by an 8-5 margin in the second set before the Wildcats reeled off a 12-1 run. UT Martin was able to momentarily halt Arizona's momentum with back-to-back points to make the score 17-11 but the Wildcats answered back with a 6-0 run on their way to the win. Once again, the Skyhawks were hurt by attack errors as they hit -.080 (five kills, seven errors) in 25 attempts in the second set.

UT Martin began the third stanza on a roll, as the duo of Scanlon (two kills, solo block) and Hinshaw (two service aces) helped the Skyhawks race out to a 6-1 advantage. Logan Wallick slammed down back-to-back kills and moments later, a kill by Walker extended UT Martin's lead out to 17-8. Arizona then scored 13 of the next 15 points to take a brief lead but the Skyhawks persevered for set point at 26-25 and 27-26. However, the Wildcats tallied the final three points of the set. Gyori posted 10 of the team's 30 kills in the final stanza.

UC Davis
The Skyhawks generated a balanced offensive attack as five different players ended with seven kills but would fall in its second match of the day.

UT Martin grabbed a 10-6 advantage in the first set before the Aggies (8-3) went on an extended run, scoring 11 of the next 12 points. Back-to-back kills by Walker and Fair helped the Skyhawks pull back within six points late in the set (23-17) but UT Martin ultimately could not recover from its deficit. Fair and Gyori paced the Skyhawks with three kills and five digs, respectively.

The second set was tight throughout, as a Jamie Rys service ace made the score 9-9 – which was the fourth tie of the stanza at that point. UC Davis threatened to run away with the set after claiming a 24-18 advantage but UT Martin fought off elimination with four straight points to close within two points. However, the Aggies called a timeout and came back with a kill to take 2-0 lead in the match. Maddi Noble registered team-highs in assists (four) and digs (three) in the second set.

A total of 17 ties and seven lead changes took place in the third set. Five different Skyhawks accounted for kills in UT Martin's first 11 points as the Skyhawks opened up a 13-10 advantage. The score kept going back-and-forth until Jessica Reynolds came away with back-to-back kills and an assisted block to make the score 23-20 after breaking a tie at 20-all. Hannah Phillips and Wallick then put the finishing touches on the set with back-to-back kills to make the score 2-1. Gyori collected nine digs to guide UT Martin in the third stanza.

Fair had an early kill and service ace to help the Skyhawks jump out to a 3-1 lead but the lead quickly changed hands after a 5-0 Aggie run provided UT Martin with a 12-6 deficit. A kill by Walker would later slice the Skyhawk deficit to five points but ultimately that would be as close as UT Martin would get the rest of the way. UC Davis hit .522 (14 kills against just two errors) in 23 swings on its way to the win.