UT MARTIN VOLLEYBALL COMPETES THROUGHOUT BUT FALLS SHORT ON OPENING DAY OF SKYHAWK INVITATIONAL

Friday, September 20

Martin, Tenn.

12:30 p.m.

UT Martin

3-9

Evansville

7-2

Evansville

UT Martin

UT MARTIN VOLLEYBALL COMPETES THROUGHOUT BUT FALLS SHORT ON OPENING DAY OF SKYHAWK INVITATIONAL

9/20/2019 11:39:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Evansville PDF Mercer PDF

MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team matched up against a pair of sizzling hot squads on Day One of the Skyhawk Invitational today, falling 3-1 to Evansville (15-25, 20-25, 25-19, 20-25) and 3-0 to Mercer (16-25, 23-25, 23-25).

The Skyhawks (3-10) were pitted against an Evansville squad that is currently on a seven-match winning streak while Mercer has won four of its last five outings. UT Martin struggled to find a consistent offensive rhythm today, hitting .136 while allowing its two opponents to hit .244 in the pair of matches.

Karen Scanlon provided a team-high 17 kills (2.43 per set) for the Skyhawks, hitting .279 in 43 swings on the day. She also added 19 digs – including a career-best 11 scoops this afternoon against Evansville. Kenzie Hinshaw (53 assists, 21 digs) collected two double-doubles while Jamie Rys (22 digs, 3.14 per set) and Justine Walker (17 blocks, 2.43 per set) ignited UT Martin defensively.

The Skyhawks return to action tomorrow, capping off their home tournament with a 2 p.m. contest against Little Rock. The day will begin with Evansville and Mercer duking it out for the Skyhawk Invitational title at 11 a.m.

Evansville
UT Martin and the visiting Purple Aces played to 20 tie scores and nine lead changes before Evansville pulled away for the win.

Hinshaw and Walker opened the first set with back-to-back block assists as the Skyhawks took a 6-4 advantage. The Purple Aces reeled off four unanswered points and eventually stretched their lead out to 15-10 before kills by Scanlon and Hinshaw willed UT Martin back to within three points. From that point forward, Evansville rounded out the set on a 9-2 run to establish early momentum.

A 4-0 Skyhawk run that featured kills out of Scanlon and Wallick gave UT Martin a 7-5 lead to start the second set. The Purple Aces soon used a 6-2 surge to go back ahead but an assisted block by Walker and Jessica Reynolds evened the score at 15-all. Evansville scored the first five points in a 7-1 run before a pair of Reynolds rally killers bookended a stretch of four consecutive Skyhawk points. As a result, the UT Martin deficit was only 22-20 but the Purple Aces answered with three straight points to go on top by a 2-0 margin.

The Skyhawks amassed the first three points of the third set and would not relinquish its lead until a 4-0 Purple Aces run gave them a 14-13 lead. Evansville's advantage would be short-lived as UT Martin strung together 11 of the final 16 points on its way to the win. The Skyhawks received blocks on four straight points during one spurt while four different UT Martin players compiled kills down the stretch. Kayla Carrell additionally tacked on a service ace as the Skyhawks found their groove to avoid a sweep.

Walker started the fourth set with a kill but UT Martin soon found itself trailing by a 7-2 margin. Hinshaw came away with two kills to help the Skyhawks flip their deficit into a 10-9 advantage. After the Purple Aces immediately accounted for nine of the next 11 points, the closest UT Martin would get the rest of the way was 24-20 after a Walker kill and an Evansville attack error. Unfortunately, it was too little and too late for the Skyhawks to force a decisive fifth set.

Gallery: (9/20/2019) Volleyball vs. Evansville

Mercer
UT Martin shook off a poor first set to get in prime position against the Bears but Mercer fought off multiple Skyhawk rallies with winning plays down the stretch.

The Bears owned a 4-2 lead to form the opening stanza but three consecutive Mercer errors made the score 7-5 in favor of UT Martin. Both sides were knotted at 10-all before the Bears went on a 5-1 run that forced the Skyhawks to burn a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, UT Martin generated three straight points to trim its deficit to a single point at 15-14. However, Mercer scored 10 of the final dozen points in the set to tally a 1-0 match advantage.

The Skyhawks led for a majority of the second set, notching the first six points on their way to a 11-3 lead. Scanlon played a huge role in UT Martin's quick start, coming away with three kills during the Skyhawks' first seven points. Reynolds then caught fire with five kills over a nine-point stretch for UT Martin. Mercer took its first lead of the set at 22-21 and overcame a 23-22 deficit with a 3-0 run to end the second stanza.

The nightcap closed out with the Skyhawks catching fire late in the third set but UT Martin could not break through. The Bears scored the first three points of the match and led 9-5 but Reynolds' third kill of the stanza helped the Skyhawks close to within two points (15-13). Mercer followed with a 4-0 run but once again, a UT Martin timeout fueled a run. The Skyhawks scored nine of 12 points during one spurt, which included two kills and two assists from freshman setter Haeleigh Paulino. After the set was even at 23-23, the Bears came away with back-to-back kills to claim the match.

Gallery: (9/20/2019) Volleyball vs. Mercer