Tuesday, September 21
Martin, Tenn.
6 p.m.
UT Martin
4-9
3
vs
0
Middle Tennessee
2-4
1
2
3
F
Middle Tennessee
25
15
27
0
UT Martin
27
25
29
3
SKYHAWK VOLLEYBALL SOARS PAST MIDDLE TENNESSEE IN HOME OPENER FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE SWEEP
9/21/2021 10:32:00 PM | Volleyball
MARTIN, Tenn. – Yet another impressive offensive performance by the University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team resulted in the third straight notch in the win column as the Skyhawks turned away Middle Tennessee by a 3-0 margin (27-25, 25-15, 29-27) this evening.
Three days after hitting a season-best .279 against Memphis, UT Martin's well-oiled offensive machine was back in action as the Skyhawks combined for a .226 attack percentage. A trio of UT Martin representatives tallied double-digit kills, paced by Karen Scanlon's 13 rally killers on a .462 hitting percentage. Logan Wallick slammed down 12 kills on an eye-popping .647 attack percentage (only one error in 17 swings) while Olivia Saunders came away with 10 kills tonight.
Haeleigh Paulino handed out 37 assists to go along with nine digs for the Skyhawks, who improve to 4-9 on the season heading into Ohio Valley Conference play.
Baillie Kearns (10 digs) accumulated double-digit digs for the ninth time this season. As a team, UT Martin swatted away nine blocks, topped by five rejections out of Scanlon and four by Saunders.
Gallery: (9-21-2021) Volleyball vs. Middle Tennessee
The opening set featured 13 tie scores and six lead changes as the Skyhawks made all the right plays down the stretch. Wallick's third kill of the stanza made the score 9-6 in favor of UT Martin and forced the Blue Raiders to burn a timeout. A pair of Saunders kills helped the Skyhawks keep their lead at three points (18-15) but Middle Tennessee bounced back to take a narrow lead after a 7-2 run. The Skyhawks had set point twice and the Blue Raiders also had one set point opportunity but a Wallick kill and Blue Raider attack error broke a 25-25 tie and handed UT Martin a 1-0 advantage. Wallick was a perfect 6-for-6 in kill-to-swing ratio in the first set as Paulino divvied out a remarkable 17 assists.
The Skyhawks scored the first two points – both from Wallick kills – in the second set and didn't look back, never trailing throughout the set. A block assist from Paulino and Scanlon opened up UT Martin's advantage to 11-5 before Scanlon had a hand in four straight points (kill, solo block, block assist, kill) to make the score 16-9. Saunders soon delivered back-to-back kills before a Paulino kill off a feed from Kearns was the set-clincher. It was a tale of two offenses in the second set as the Skyhawks hit .417 (only two miscues in 24 attempts) while Middle Tennessee collected an .037 attack percentage (seven errors in 27 swings).
The third set was another tight outcome as the two sides slugged their way through 17 ties and five lead changes. Neither team took a lead larger than two points until a 5-1 Blue Raider run turned a 15-all tie into a 20-16 UT Martin deficit. The Skyhawks answered right back with four straight points – two via Scanlon kills – to even the score at 20-20. Middle Tennessee received three chances at set point but UT Martin stayed alive as kills from Scanlon and Saunders tied the score at 24-all. The Skyhawks fought off yet another set point at 25-24 before successfully converting their third opportunity at match point after a Scanlon kill. Scanlon came up huge in crunchtime, delivering six kills while Paulino had 12 assists and a team-high six digs in the final stanza.
League play begins for UT Martin this weekend as it begins a three-match road trip with a pair of contests against Belmont on Sept. 24-25.
Three days after hitting a season-best .279 against Memphis, UT Martin's well-oiled offensive machine was back in action as the Skyhawks combined for a .226 attack percentage. A trio of UT Martin representatives tallied double-digit kills, paced by Karen Scanlon's 13 rally killers on a .462 hitting percentage. Logan Wallick slammed down 12 kills on an eye-popping .647 attack percentage (only one error in 17 swings) while Olivia Saunders came away with 10 kills tonight.
Haeleigh Paulino handed out 37 assists to go along with nine digs for the Skyhawks, who improve to 4-9 on the season heading into Ohio Valley Conference play.
Baillie Kearns (10 digs) accumulated double-digit digs for the ninth time this season. As a team, UT Martin swatted away nine blocks, topped by five rejections out of Scanlon and four by Saunders.
The opening set featured 13 tie scores and six lead changes as the Skyhawks made all the right plays down the stretch. Wallick's third kill of the stanza made the score 9-6 in favor of UT Martin and forced the Blue Raiders to burn a timeout. A pair of Saunders kills helped the Skyhawks keep their lead at three points (18-15) but Middle Tennessee bounced back to take a narrow lead after a 7-2 run. The Skyhawks had set point twice and the Blue Raiders also had one set point opportunity but a Wallick kill and Blue Raider attack error broke a 25-25 tie and handed UT Martin a 1-0 advantage. Wallick was a perfect 6-for-6 in kill-to-swing ratio in the first set as Paulino divvied out a remarkable 17 assists.
The Skyhawks scored the first two points – both from Wallick kills – in the second set and didn't look back, never trailing throughout the set. A block assist from Paulino and Scanlon opened up UT Martin's advantage to 11-5 before Scanlon had a hand in four straight points (kill, solo block, block assist, kill) to make the score 16-9. Saunders soon delivered back-to-back kills before a Paulino kill off a feed from Kearns was the set-clincher. It was a tale of two offenses in the second set as the Skyhawks hit .417 (only two miscues in 24 attempts) while Middle Tennessee collected an .037 attack percentage (seven errors in 27 swings).
The third set was another tight outcome as the two sides slugged their way through 17 ties and five lead changes. Neither team took a lead larger than two points until a 5-1 Blue Raider run turned a 15-all tie into a 20-16 UT Martin deficit. The Skyhawks answered right back with four straight points – two via Scanlon kills – to even the score at 20-20. Middle Tennessee received three chances at set point but UT Martin stayed alive as kills from Scanlon and Saunders tied the score at 24-all. The Skyhawks fought off yet another set point at 25-24 before successfully converting their third opportunity at match point after a Scanlon kill. Scanlon came up huge in crunchtime, delivering six kills while Paulino had 12 assists and a team-high six digs in the final stanza.
League play begins for UT Martin this weekend as it begins a three-match road trip with a pair of contests against Belmont on Sept. 24-25.
Team Stats
MTSU
UTM
Kills
32
45
Errors
22
19
Attempts
111
115
Hitting %
.090
.226
Points
42.0
58.0
Assists
29
41
Aces
3
4
Blocks
7.0
9.0
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
L/DS
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballMB/OPP
/ VolleyballOH
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