SKYHAWK VOLLEYBALL BATTLES BUT FALLS ON OPENING DAY OF 2021 CAMPAIGN AT A-STATE INVITATIONAL

Friday, August 27

Jonesboro, Ark.

12 p.m.

UT Martin

0-1

Arkansas State

1-0

UT Martin

Arkansas State

SKYHAWK VOLLEYBALL BATTLES BUT FALLS ON OPENING DAY OF 2021 CAMPAIGN AT A-STATE INVITATIONAL

8/27/2021 8:19:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 PDF Boxscore (ASU)PDF Boxscore (WSU)

JONESBORO, Ark. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team came up just short in its quest for a season-opening victory today, falling 3-1 to Arkansas State (27-25, 18-25, 15-25, 26-28) and 3-0 to Wichita State (16-25, 15-25, 22-25) on Day 1 of the A-State Invitational.

Karen Scanlon's 19 kills (2.71 per set) topped the Skyhawks today while she was also tied for second on the squad with 15 digs. Addison Conley (18 kills, 2.57 per set) and Francela Ulate (team-best four service aces) also led UT Martin offensively while Haeleigh Paulino (36 assists, 15 digs) and Addy Vaughn (26 assists, 15 digs) shared duties at setter.

Defensively, Dylan Mott piled up 31 digs (4.43 per set) to top the Skyhawks. Baillie Kearns recorded 15 digs (3.00 per set) and Olivia Saunders turned away a team-high four blocks on the day.

UT Martin wraps up the two-day tournament tomorrow when it takes on Missouri State at noon.

Arkansas State
Conley (15 kills, 10 digs) and Vaughn (18 assists, 10 digs) each recorded double-doubles but it wasn't enough as the host Red Wolves escaped with a four-set win.

Paulino got the season started off right with a service ace on the first point of the match. After Arkansas State scored five unanswered points, Vaughn supplied a kill to temporarily halt the Red Wolves' momentum. Following a Skyhawk timeout after Arkansas State took a 19-13 lead, UT Martin closed out the set on a 14-6 run. Jessica Reynolds had three kills in the span of eight points while Saunders completed the comeback with back-to-back kills to break a 25-25 tie. The Skyhawks sided out at 60 percent thanks in large part to a stellar defense, keyed by Mott's nine digs.

A pair of Reynolds kills – sandwiched around a Mott service ace – gave UT Martin an early 6-5 advantage in the second set. The Red Wolves went on a 6-0 run but the Skyhawks later responded right back with five consecutive points, capped off by a Ulate service ace that evened the score at 12-all and forced Arkansas State to burn a timeout. The Red Wolves accounted for four straight points out of the timeout and UT Martin could not get any closer than three points for the remainder of the set. Conley had five kills on six swings for an .833 attack percentage to lead a Skyhawk offense that hit .276 in the stanza.

Arkansas State opened the third set on a 4-0 run and later tacked on six unanswered points. The duo of Conley and Scanlon joined forces for four kills in the span of seven UT Martin points but the early deficit proved to be too much of a challenge for the Skyhawks to overcome. Mott came away with six digs to once again lead UT Martin defensively in the set.

The Skyhawks were on the verge of forcing a decisive fifth stanza, facing set point at 24-23 before the Red Wolves concluded the match on a 5-2 run. Reynolds, Kambree Lucas and Scanlon tallied kills on three consecutive possessions midway through a set that featured 17 ties and five lead changes. Seven different UT Martin players came away with kills over an eight-point span, resulting in a 24-23 advantage. Arkansas State stayed alive with back-to-back points before eventually converting its third chance at match point. The Skyhawks hit .279 (17 kills against only five errors) in 43 attempts in the stanza, led by four kills apiece out of Conley and Scanlon.

Wichita State
Kearns accumulated a team-best 13 digs but UT Martin could not find a rhythm in its first-ever matchup against the Shockers.

The Skyhawks raced out to a 4-1 lead in the opening set as Lucas slammed down a pair of early kills. Conley amassed back-to-back kills to extend UT Martin's lead out to 9-5 but Wichita State immediately went on a 6-0 run to take its first lead of the match. A Saunders kill pulled the Skyhawks within a single point at 16-15 but the Shockers reeled off five unanswered points as part of a 9-1 run to close the set. Kearns (nine) and Lucas (six) combined for 60 percent of UT Martin's 25 digs in the opening stanza.

The Skyhawks once again got off to a great start in the second set, claiming a 5-2 advantage that included a Ulate service ace, a Vaughn kill and a Saunders solo block. Ulate and Scanlon each piled up two kills during a 6-2 UT Martin surge that gave the Skyhawks a 13-12 lead. However, Wichita State was responsible for 13 of the final 15 points on its way to a 2-0 lead in the match. Saunders hit .333 and had a team-best two blocks in the second stanza.

Scanlon struck for kills on each of UT Martin's first three points in the final set but the Shockers soon claimed an 18-11 lead. The Skyhawks fought back to take a pair of late leads, courtesy of an 8-0 run that included kills by Zoe Merriweather and Scanlon. Ulate then caught fire for three straight kills to give UT Martin a 22-21 advantage but the Skyhawk comeback bid stalled after a 4-0 Wichita State run closed out the match. Scanlon managed five kills with just one error in the set to guide UT Martin.