PAULINO’S DOUBLE-DOUBLES HELP UT MARTIN VOLLEYBALL SPLIT ON DAY 1 OF TIGER BRAWL IN BLUFF CITY

Friday, September 17

Memphis, Tenn.

9 a.m.

UT Martin

1-9

Arkansas State

7-3

UT Martin

Arkansas State

PAULINO’S DOUBLE-DOUBLES HELP UT MARTIN VOLLEYBALL SPLIT ON DAY 1 OF TIGER BRAWL IN BLUFF CITY

9/17/2021 7:25:00 PM | Volleyball

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

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball squad wrapped up the opening day of the Tiger Brawl with a convincing victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, sweeping the Golden Lions by a 25-14, 25-22, 25-20 margin. Earlier in the day, the Skyhawks scrapped throughout but fell in four sets (27-25, 24-26, 23-25, 17-25) to Arkansas State.

Olivia Saunders and Addison Conley shared the team lead in kills today, each slamming down 17 kills. Saunders hit .283 with just four errors on the day while Francela Ulate contributed 14 kills on a .282 attack percentage.

Junior setter Haeleigh Paulino stood out today with a pair of double-doubles to give her five on the season. In today's opener against Arkansas State, she handed out a career-best 40 assists and scooped up a team-high 15 digs. She followed that with 24 assists and a team-best 16 digs in the nightcap against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Defensively, Baillie Kearns equaled Paulino with a team-high 31 digs (4.43 per set) out of the libero position. Karen Scanlon swatted away a team-best seven blocks while Zoe Merriweather accumulated six blocks and a team-high 2.00 blocks-per-set average.

UT Martin ends its participation in the tournament tomorrow when it squares off against event host Memphis at 11 a.m.

Arkansas State
The Skyhawks nabbed the first set and were in contention throughout but the Red Wolves came from behind to claim the win.

UT Martin began the match on the right foot, overcoming an early deficit to take the opening set. The Skyhawks trailed 7-1 but eventually closed its gap to two points after a 4-0 run made the score 11-9. A Saunders kill provided UT Martin with its first lead of the day at 16-15 while a Logan Wallick putaway extended the Skyhawk advantage out to 20-17. The score wound up being knotted at 25-all before back-to-back Arkansas State attack errors put UT Martin up 1-0 in the match. Paulino compiled 14 assists while Conley came away with a match-high six digs in the first set for the Skyhawks.

Early kills by Scanlon and Ulate helped UT Martin even the score at 4-all but the Red Wolves soon went on a 5-0 run. Another kill from Ulate pulled the Skyhawks within a single point at 12-11 but Arkansas State would later stretch its lead out to 21-17. UT Martin clawed back to even the score at 21-all following a 4-0 run that featured kills from Saunders, Audrey Haworth and Wallick. After the Red Wolves nabbed set point at 24-21, the Skyhawks fought back with three consecutive points but Arkansas State broke the 24-24 tie with two straight kills. Paulino secured a team-high three kills and 11 assists while Kayla Carrell was responsible for a team-high six digs in the second stanza.

UT Martin led for a large portion of the third set but the Red Wolves once again mounted a comeback. Saunders' fourth kill of the set made the score 11-6 in favor of the Skyhawks but Arkansas State raced back to even the set at 16-all. Saunders immediately responded with another kill to break the tie but the Red Wolves went on an 8-3 run to claim set point. UT Martin answered with three consecutive points but unfortunately it wasn't enough as Arkansas State scored on the next possession to go ahead 2-1. Saunders hit .455 with no errors in 11 swings while Kearns and Paulino each had a team-best six digs in the third set.

Ulate spiked down a kill to provide the Skyhawks with a 3-1 advantage in the fourth set but the Red Wolves scored six of the next seven points. Wallick (two kills) and Paulino (kill, service ace) combined for four consecutive points for UT Martin to tilt the score back in favor of the Skyhawks at 12-11. However, Arkansas State used a 6-0 surge to create some separation and UT Martin could not get any closer than four points the rest of the way. Paulino led the way for the Skyhawks in the final set, posting five assists, five digs, one kill and a service ace.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff
UT Martin made quick work of the Lady Lions, notching its second sweep of the 2021 campaign.

The Skyhawks shook off a slow start as they fell behind 5-1 before seizing control after a 9-0 run. Conley had kills to start and close out the run, tallying three kills and a block assist during the surge that opened up a 16-9 advantage. UT Martin kept its foot on the gas late, accounting for six of the final seven points as Paulino registered back-to-back kills to put an exclamation point on the opening stanza. The Skyhawks hit .324 in the first set as Conley's four kills led the way. Meanwhile, UT Martin's defensive attack included 25 digs – nine of which came from Kearns.

Another lengthy run aided the Skyhawks in the second set although UT Martin did have to battle down the stretch to secure the 2-0 advantage. Seven ties took place in the first 18 combined points but the Skyhawks reeled off an 8-1 run to go on top by a 17-10 margin. Arkansas-Pine Bluff then responded with an 8-1 run of its own to even the score at 18-18. A Saunders kill followed on the next possession before Conley closed out the set on a tear, piling up three kills (including the set-clincher) to help UT Martin end on a 6-3 run. Conley had five kills on a .417 hitting percentage (no errors in 12 swings) while Paulino had a team-high six digs in the second stanza.

Ulate had the hot hand to kick off the third set, compiling three kills out of the Skyhawks' first six points. UT Martin led by an 11-9 margin before Conley soon took over – managing three kills in the span of five Skyhawk points. A solo block by Merriweather nudged UT Martin's lead out to match point at 24-16. The Lady Lions scored four unanswered but the Skyhawks completed the sweep with a block assist by Merriweather and Conley. UT Martin's defense limited Arkansas-Pine Bluff to a .000 attack percentage (11 kills, 11 errors) as Merriweather rejected three of the team's five blocks in the final set.