UT MARTIN VOLLEYBALL COMPLETES PARTICIPATION IN BILLIKEN INVITATIONAL; MACKEVICIUTE VOTED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Saturday, September 14

St. Louis, Mo.

10 a.m.

UT Martin

3-6

Troy

6-2

Troy

UT Martin

UT MARTIN VOLLEYBALL COMPLETES PARTICIPATION IN BILLIKEN INVITATIONAL; MACKEVICIUTE VOTED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

9/14/2019 10:05:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Troy PDF Saint Louis PDF

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Senior middle blocker Gintare Mackeviciute claimed all-tournament accolades for the University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball squad but the Skyhawks fell to Troy (16-25, 15-25, 19-15) and Saint Louis (25-27, 18-25, 17-25) by 3-0 margins today.

Mackeviciute accounted for a team-best 21 kills (2.33 per set) on a .208 attack percentage during the Billiken Invitational, also chipping in six blocks. It marks the second all-tournament nod during the senior season of the Jonava, Lithuania native as she also earned that status at the Indiana Invitational on Aug. 30-31.

On the day, Mackeviciute posted 17 kills on a .333 hitting percentage, committing only six attack errors on 33 attempts. Justine Walker paced the Skyhawks with three service aces and seven blocks today while Kenzie Hinshaw (34 assists) and Logan Wallick (17 digs) guided UT Martin in their respective statistical categories.

The Skyhawks head back on the road on Tuesday, Sept. 17 when they travel to Southern Illinois. First serve from Carbondale, Ill. is set for 6 p.m.

Troy
Mackeviciute compiled team-highs of seven kills and a .455 attack percentage but UT Martin wasn't able to find an offensive rhythm against the Sun Belt Conference opponent.

An assisted block by Hinshaw and Walker opened the match and gave the Skyhawks a 1-0 advantage. The Trojans followed with four unanswered points but a kill and service ace by Wallick on back-to-back possessions cut the UT Martin deficit to two. Troy scored nine of the next 11 points before the Skyhawks went on a 5-1 surge. Jessica Reynolds collected a pair of late kills but Troy ended the set with five of the final six points.

Reynolds and Mackeviciute each delivered a pair of kills as UT Martin and the Trojans were knotted at 7-all to begin the second stanza. After Troy went on a 6-2 run, kills by Hannah Phillips, Walker and Mackeviciute kept the Skyhawks within striking distance at 15-12. However, the Trojans went on a 10-3 run from that point forward to take a 2-0 advantage in the match.

The third set featured five early ties, capped off after Addison Conley slammed down a kill to make the score 6-all. Troy accounted for the next four points before a Walker service ace trimmed UT Martin's deficit to 13-10. The Trojans immediately followed with a 6-1 surge but the Skyhawks pushed through to eventually get within three points (22-19) after a block assist by Phillips and Walker. Troy was able to recover by scoring three unanswered points to win the match.

Saint Louis
UT Martin nearly captured the opening set but could not turn the corner in a 3-0 setback to host Saint Louis.

Wallick got off to a hot start in the opening set, churning out three kills and a service ace through the Skyhawks' first 10 points to provide a three-point UT Martin advantage. The Billikens briefly took a lead but a Conley service ace tilted the score back in favor of the Skyhawks at 14-13. The two sides swapped blows before UT Martin had set point at both 24-23 and 25-24. However, Saint Louis was able to fend off elimination and eventually pieced together three straight points to take the 1-0 advantage.

A pair of Conley kills highlighted a 4-2 start to the second set for the Skyhawks. The Billikens soon pieced together a 7-2 run to go on top by a 16-10 margin but UT Martin got back in the contest thanks to a late surge. Kills by Karen Scanlon and Reynolds bookended a 7-2 Skyhawk run that made the score 22-18. Saint Louis regained the momentum and answered with three consecutive points to go ahead 2-0 in the match.

Back-to-back Mackeviciute kills pushed UT Martin ahead by a 6-4 margin in the third set. The Billikens pushed ahead for a quick moment but another Mackeviciute kill and a kill by Haeleigh Paulino evened the score at 8-all. Saint Louis used a 5-0 run to create some separation before back-to-back kills by Hinshaw and Mackeviciute pulled the Skyhawks back within three points at 18-15. However, the Billikens came right back with a 7-2 run to close out the match.