UT MARTIN VOLLEYBALL SENDS SENIORS OUT WITH A THRILLING VICTORY IN DOUBLEHEADER NIGHTCAP AGAINST AUSTIN PEAY

Monday, March 29

Martin, Tenn.

12 p.m.

UT Martin

5-10,5-10OVC

Austin Peay

9-4,9-4OVC

Austin Peay

UT Martin

UT MARTIN VOLLEYBALL SENDS SENIORS OUT WITH A THRILLING VICTORY IN DOUBLEHEADER NIGHTCAP AGAINST AUSTIN PEAY

3/29/2021 11:32:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 PDF Boxscore (Match 1)PDF Boxscore (Match 2)

MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team concluded the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign on a high note, outlasting Austin Peay for a five-set triumph (25-22, 26-28, 25-24, 19-25, 19-17) in the second match of today's doubleheader. Earlier in the day, the Skyhawks battled but were defeated by a 3-0 margin (26-28, 22-25, 22-25).

This evening served as Senior Night for UT Martin as Kenzie Hinshaw and Kayla Long were each honored just before the second match of the day. Both seniors had big performances to help the Skyhawks claim the victory as Hinshaw registered a career-best 59 assists and a season-high 16 digs while Long scooped up a career-best 12 digs – including three clutch rally-savers in the decisive fifth set.

Karen Scanlon led UT Martin offensively today, slamming down 30 kills (3.75 per set) on a .338 hitting percentage. Jessica Reynolds (25 kills) and Logan Wallick (22 kills) followed while Hinshaws' 11.38 assists-per-set average helped the Skyhawks hit .216 on the day.

Defensively, Dylan Mott paced UT Martin with 36 digs (4.50 per set) – including 23 scoops alone in the second match. She equaled a team-high with three service aces on the day, joining Addy Vaughn (24 digs, 16 kills – including her first career double-double in the nightcap) while freshman Lauren O'Neill turned away a team-best six blocks (1.00 per set) for the Skyhawks, who wrap up the 2020-21 season with a 6-10 overall record.

Gallery: (3-29-2021) Volleyball vs. Austin Peay (Senior Night)

Match 1
The afternoon matchup featured 22 tie scores and eight lead changes but the visiting Governors (9-5) were able to claim a three-set win.

Reynolds and Scanlon began the match with back-to-back kills as UT Martin took a 3-0 advantage. Austin Peay responded with an 8-2 run but a Vaughn kill soon thereafter equaled the score at 9-all. Scanlon delivered three straight Skyhawk kills to keep the score knotted at 14-14 as a theme developed for the first set. Scanlon went off for three more kills in the span of four points before kills from Olivia Lucia and Lucy Kaufman tied things up at 26-all. However, the Governors managed to score back-to-back points and take a 1-0 lead. Scanlon (seven kills) and Hinshaw (16 assists) helped carry UT Martin in the opening stanza.

After the score was knotted at 4-4 in the second set, Austin Peay went on a 6-0 run but Vaughn dialed up a pair of kills as the Skyhawks got back within three points at 11-8. The Governors then scored four unanswered points but UT Martin kept chipping away, eventually pulling to 20-19 after a trio of Reynolds kills were featured during a 7-1 surge. Reynolds would tack on another kill late as the Skyhawks stayed close until the end before the comeback attempt stalled. Reynolds accounted for four kills on six swings in the second set.

Wallick was on fire to begin the third set, amassing four kills as UT Martin jumped out to a 5-2 advantage. Back-to-back kills out of Scanlon made the score 12-9 in favor of the Skyhawks as the match seemed destined to extend to a fourth set. Wallick powered through for yet another kill to keep UT Martin on top late (20-19) but Austin Peay closed out the contest on a 6-2 run, despite five total kills in set from Wallick.

Match 2
Four Skyhawks piled up double-digit kills and five UT Martin players piled up at least a dozen digs in the marathon matchup.

A total of five different Skyhawks were responsible for kills through UT Martin's first seven points of the contest. Scanlon soon heated up for three kills in the span of four points as the Skyhawks took an 11-9 lead early. UT Martin maintained its advantage until three consecutive points out of the Governors resulted in an 18-16 Skyhawk deficit. Scanlon then bookended a 4-0 run with a pair of kills and UT Martin never looked back, ending the set on a kill from Vaughn. Scanlon had seven kills on nine attempts (.778 attack percentage) as the Skyhawks hit .333 as a team.

UT Martin dominated the first half of the second stanza but fell victim to a ferocious Austin Peay comeback. An O'Neill kill nudged the Skyhawk advantage out to 13-7 but the Governors answered with a 6-1 run to get back in it. Despite that, UT Martin still led by a 19-15 margin following a kill from Scanlon and would have set point opportunities on three different occasions. However, Austin Peay fended off a potential 2-0 hole and scored three consecutive points to even the match at 1-1. Hinshaw assisted on 15 of the Skyhawks' 18 kills in the set.

Remarkably, UT Martin sided out at 92 percent (13-of-14) in the third stanza, hitting .346 in the process. The score was relatively tight in the early stages of the set but the Skyhawks blew by for an 8-1 run. Reynolds rose to the occasion with five kills over an 11-point stretch for UT Martin as it opened up a double-digit advantage late before Wallick ended things with an emphatic kill. Reynolds' aforementioned five kills were a team-high in that category while Mott secured a team-best six digs.

The Governors stayed alive in the fourth set, trailing early before outscoring the Skyhawks by a 14-6 margin at one point. UT Martin faced its biggest deficit of the night at 20-12 but didn't quit – piecing together a 5-0 run that featured back-to-back kills from Reynolds that closed the Skyhawk gap to only three. Scanlon added two kills from that point forward but Austin Peay claimed five of the final seven points of the stanza. Mott once again performed well in the fourth set with a team-high six digs

The nailbiting fifth set had eight ties and four lead changes but UT Martin found a way to get the win. Hinshaw had back-to-back kills as the Skyhawks took the early momentum. UT Martin used a 4-0 run to go on top 8-5 and kept a four-point advantage all the way through 13-9. However, the Governors notched six of the next seven points – claiming match point three separate times afterwards. Down 17-16, Scanlon and Wallick posted consecutive kills before a Baillie Kearns service ace capped off the successful Skyhawk season finale.