SKYHAWK VOLLEYBALL SWEEPS DAY ONE OF THE TIGER BRAWL

Friday, September 6

Memphis, Tenn.

12:30 p.m.

UT Martin

2-3

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

0-4

UT Martin

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

SKYHAWK VOLLEYBALL SWEEPS DAY ONE OF THE TIGER BRAWL

9/6/2019 6:50:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Arkansas-Pine Bluff PDF Gardner-Webb PDF

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team extended its winning streak to three matches today thanks to a pair of victories on the opening day of the Tiger Brawl, defeating Arkansas-Pine Bluff (25-13, 25-14, 24-26, 25-18) and Gardner-Webb (25-11, 25-18, 20-25, 25-17) by identical 3-1 margins.

Hannah Phillips compiled a team-high 18 kills today, committing only three errors in 44 swings for a .341 hitting percentage. Kenzie Hinshaw divvied out 54 assists to go along with 20 digs on the day to help the Skyhawk offense hit .235 on the day with 97 kills over the two matches.

Defensively, UT Martin (3-3) was led by Jamie Rys' 25 digs, including 18 digs in the match against Gardner-Webb alone. Justine Walker guided the Skyhawks with 11 blocks today as UT Martin generated a defensive clinic today – swatting away 23 blocks in the opening match against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

The Skyhawks close out their participation in the Tiger Brawl tomorrow, as UT Martin takes on Memphis at 1 p.m.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff
UT Martin cruised to its first win of the day behind an offense that hit .320 and a defense that collected 23 blocks against the Lady Lions.

A half-dozen Skyhawks accounted for kills in the first nine points, helping UT Martin jump out to an early two-point advantage. The Skyhawks would soon go on a 9-1 run as part of a set-ending 15-4 spurt. Phillips and Walker each had two big kills apiece down the stretch to will UT Martin to the win.

Kills by Karen Scanlon and Rys helped the Skyhawks create some separation in the initial stages of the second set. UT Martin displayed a 6-0 run midway through the set as Walker had a hand in three assisted blocks during that stretch. Moments later, Wallick caught fire – slamming down three consecutive kills during another 6-0 Skyhawk run to give UT Martin a 2-0 advantage.

The Skyhawks pieced together 15 kills in the third set but saw Arkansas-Pine Bluff accrue 14 kills in the third set (after tallying 13 combined kills in the first two sets). Wallick and Walker continued their tears for the UT Martin offense but the Lady Lions forced a fourth set after claiming the late momentum in the 26-24 win.

The Skyhawks took care of business in the final stanza, sprinting out to an 11-5 advantage right out of the gate. UT Martin extended its advantage out to 18-10 thanks to back-to-back kills by Hinshaw and Wallick. Arkansas-Pine Bluff inched back within four points late but the Skyhawks rose to the occasion late, as a pair of kills by Phillips sandwiched around a Lady Lion attack error put the finishing touches on the victory.

Gardner-Webb
Rys (18 digs) and freshman Lucy Kaufman (10 digs) combined for over half of UT Martin's 52 digs as the Skyhawks limited the Runnin' Bulldogs to an .076 attack percentage for its second win on the day.

Walker started the opening set with a pair of kills as part of a 3-0 UT Martin lead. The Skyhawks led 6-4 before scoring seven unanswered points – as a Wallick kill was followed by six consecutive Gardner-Webb errors. Rys picked up a service ace to extend UT Martin's lead out to double-figures at 17-7 while Jessica Reynolds tacked on two more service aces late to cap off the 1-0 lead.

The second stanza was a back-and-forth affair as neither team led by more than two points until three straight Runnin' Bulldog points made the score 11-8. After Gardner-Webb's lead remained at three points (18-15), the Skyhawks took off – closing out the set with 10 unanswered points. Rys tallied a kill and a pair of service aces during the surge which gave UT Martin a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Skyhawks took advantage of Gardner-Webb miscues early in the third set, taking an early 6-5 lead. UT Martin expanded its lead out to 16-14 after Phillips contributed three kills in a span of five points. The Skyhawks led 17-16 but the Runnin' Bulldogs found a spark and ended the set on a 9-3 run.

UT Martin started off the fourth set with a 7-4 lead after Mackeviciute chipped in a kill and a block assist on each end of a 4-0 run. Reynolds soon delivered a kill to double up the score at 12-6 but Gardner-Webb came back to trim its deficit to two points at 15-13. The Skyhawks essentially put the game away after a 5-0 spurt which included another Mackeviciute kill and a service ace by Addison Conley. Moments later, Reynolds generated the match-winning kill to complete an undefeated day for UT Martin.