SKYHAWK VOLLEYBALL SHOWS FIGHT BUT FALLS TWICE ON FIRST DAY OF HOLIDAY INN-UNIVERSITY PLAZA INVITATIONAL

Friday, September 10

Bowling Green, Ky.

1 p.m.

UT Martin

1-6

Ole Miss

6-0

UT Martin

Ole Miss

Photo by: Wyatt Richardson/WKU Athletics

SKYHAWK VOLLEYBALL SHOWS FIGHT BUT FALLS TWICE ON FIRST DAY OF HOLIDAY INN-UNIVERSITY PLAZA INVITATIONAL

9/10/2021 8:27:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 PDF Boxscore (OM)PDF Boxscore (SU)

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The opening day of the Holiday Inn-University Plaza Invitational showcased a pair of close calls for the University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team but unfortunately the Skyhawks came up short on both ends, falling to Ole Miss (25-20, 12-25, 14-25, 9-25) and Samford (19-25, 15-25, 25-18, 30-32) by identical 3-1 scores this afternoon.

Addison Conley's 20 kills ranked first on the UT Martin squad today with Karen Scanlon (19) following closely behind. Haeleigh Paulino also had a strong day at setter, hitting .700 with seven kills, 46 assists and a team-best 25 digs. Olivia Saunders turned away a team-high six blocks while pitching in 16 kills in the two Skyhawk matches today.

UT Martin puts the finishing touches on its third nonconference tournament of the season when it squares off against No. 15 Western Kentucky tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.

Ole Miss
The Skyhawks started out strong against the Southeastern Conference opponent but could not sustain their momentum against the undefeated Rebels (6-0).

Kills by Scanlon and Jessica Reynolds helped spur a big run early in the first set, giving UT Martin a 5-1 edge. Francela Ulate had a kill and a block assist during a 4-0 surge before Conley went on a tear – reeling off three straight kills to help the Skyhawks maintain their lead. The score was knotted at 16-all before UT Martin scored six of the next seven points, capped off with back-to-back service aces from Kayla Carrell. Scanlon then took over with two straight kills to wrap up the first set victory. The duo of Conley and Scanlon each accounted for five kills as the Skyhawks hit .333 in the opening stanza.

Conley got UT Martin on the scoreboard with a kill in the second set but the Rebels took a 7-3 lead. The Skyhawks trailed 13-5 before posting three straight points (Scanlon kill, Scanlon and Reynolds block assist, Ulate kill) to get back within striking distance. Reynolds would tack on two more kills during the second set but Ole Miss ended the stanza on a 12-4 run to even the match at 1-1. Paulino scooped up a team-best five digs to pace UT Martin in the second set.

The Skyhawks were in good shape midway through the third set but they could not put an end to an extended run by the Rebels in the latter stages. Saunders provided a pair of kills in UT Martin's first five points before a Ulate kill tied the score at 6-all. That began a series of 12 consecutive rallies where both teams alternated points as yet another kill by Saunders made the score 11-11. From that point forward, Ole Miss went on a 14-3 run – nabbing a 2-1 match lead in the process.

Reynolds slammed down a pair of kills to help UT Martin get off to a 4-3 advantage in the fourth set. The Rebels responded with seven unanswered points to take a 10-4 lead. Moments later, Audrey Haworth got the Skyhawks back on the scoreboard with a kill off a feed from Paulino but Ole Miss accounted for the next five points as part of a match-ending 11-2 run.

Samford
A marathon fourth set that included 23 tie scores and seven lead changes didn't go UT Martin's way as the Skyhawks suffered another tight setback at the hands of the Bulldogs.

Samford jumped out to a 4-1 lead to start the match but UT Martin stormed back to take a 5-4 advantage due in part to kills from Saunders and Addy Vaughn. The Bulldogs then went on a 13-5 run before back-to-back kills out of Saunders and Conley. The Skyhawks continued to battle and later used a 4-0 run to get back within five points after a sequence that featured a Reynolds kill, a Paulino kill, a Saunders kill and a Scanlon service ace. However, the early deficit was too large to overcome as Samford claimed the opening stanza. Conley piled up six digs to lead UT Martin in the first set.

Conley and Ulate both hammered down kills in the early phases of the second set but once again, the Skyhawks found themselves trailing after the Bulldogs started on an 8-4 surge. The duo of Conley and Saunders each had a kill plus a block assist to help UT Martin get within a single point at 9-8. After a Paulino service ace kept the margin at one point, Samford went on a 12-3 run on its way to taking a 2-0 lead in the match. Paulino's accounted for nearly half (six) of the Skyhawks' 14 digs in the second set.

Kills by Conley and Haworth aided UT Martin to a 3-1 lead to begin the third stanza. Back-to-back kills from Zoe Merriweather and Conley helped the Skyhawks open up an 12-8 advantage. The Bulldogs closed the gap to one point at 16-15 but a Haworth rally killer and back-to-back Samford attack errors boosted UT Martin's lead back out to four points. A Paulino kill and an assisted block by Merriweather and Conley shut down the third set as the Skyhawks hit a scorching .400 (15 kills against only one error) in 35 swings.

UT Martin accumulated 20 kills in the fourth set alone as it looked to extend the match but the Bulldogs managed to escape with the win. Neither side led by more than three points for the entire duration of the set as Paulino (two kills and a service ace) registered three of the Skyhawks' first seven points. A 10-7 Samford lead turned into a 13-10 UT Martin advantage following a 6-0 lead that included a pair of Conley kills. The Skyhawks were serving for set point on four different occasions (24-23, 25-24, 26-25, 29-28) and fought off match point three times before the Bulldogs eventually broke through for the 32-30 decision. Paulino had 13 assists and shared the team lead with six digs alongside Baillie Kearns in the final set.