SKYHAWK VOLLEYBALL SPLITS A PAIR OF FIVE-SET DECISIONS ON OPENING DAY OF 2022 CAMPAIGN

Friday, August 26

Richmond, Ky.

9 a.m.

UT Martin

0-1

Radford

1-0

UT Martin

Radford

SKYHAWK VOLLEYBALL SPLITS A PAIR OF FIVE-SET DECISIONS ON OPENING DAY OF 2022 CAMPAIGN

8/26/2022 8:51:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 PDF Boxscore (Radford)PDF Boxscore (IUPUI)

RICHMOND, Ky. – The first day of the 2022 University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball season featured two marathon matches as the Skyhawks went 1-1 to start the Colonel Classic hosted by Eastern Kentucky.

UT Martin began its season with a 3-2 setback (25-22, 25-17, 23-25, 17-25, 12-15) to Radford before rallying for an impressive 3-2 victory (26-24, 25-27, 22-25, 25-17, 16-14) over IUPUI. All in all, the Skyhawks faced 68 tie scores and 35 lead changes over the course of the two matches.

Karen Scanlon topped UT Martin with 29 kills and six service aces today while Haeleigh Paulino recorded team-highs in assists (51) and attack percentage (.385). Defensively, Dylan Mott compiled 47 digs (4.70 per set) to lead the way while Angel Baylark swatted away six blocks to guide the Skyhawks.

UT Martin closes out its season-opening tournament tomorrow when it squares off against Eastern Kentucky at 12:30 p.m. CST.

Radford
Mott equaled a career-high with 28 digs to go along with a career-best four service aces while Scanlon dialed up her 17^th career double-double but the Skyhawks could not halt a furious Radford comeback.

The Highlanders accounted for the first three points of the opening set but UT Martin scored seven of the next 10 points to take its first lead of the match, courtesy of a block assist from Baylark and Addy Vaughn. Radford soon took a 12-8 advantage but the Skyhawks fought back with an 8-3 run to go back on top. The lead did not extend past two points for either side until a bad Highlanders set gave UT Martin set point at 24-21. Moments later, Paulino delivered a kill to give the Skyhawks an early 1-0 advantage in the match. Logan Wallick and Kambree Lucas shared the team lead with four kills while Mott scooped up seven digs in the first set.

UT Martin carried over that success into the second stanza, hitting .243 with 13 kills and only four errors in 37 swings. Wallick had a pair of early kills as the Skyhawks raced out to a 6-2 lead early on. After Radford closed the gap to 8-6, UT Martin unreeled five unanswered points – two of which came off Mott service aces. Kayla Bryant soon took over as the true freshman out of Louisville, Ky. slammed down four kills in the span of five Skyhawk points to help UT Martin extend its lead out to 22-14. Paulino provided the set-winning point once again with a service ace, resulting in a 2-0 Skyhawk lead in the match. Bryant and Wallick both had four kills while Mott compiled nine digs in the second set.

Four different UT Martin players amassed kills as part of the Skyhawks' first five points of the third set. UT Martin maintained a slim lead before the Highlanders pieced together a 6-1 run to go ahead by a 13-9 margin. The Skyhawks immediately answered right back with a 6-0 run of their own and eventually led 20-18 following three consecutive points out of Bryant (kill and back-to-back service aces). However, Radford was able to score seven of the final 10 points to force a fourth set. Bryant guided UT Martin with four kills and two service aces while Mott's five digs led the way in the third stanza, which featured 14 ties and 10 lead changes alone.

Scanlon provided back-to-back kills during the early portion of the fourth set to keep the Skyhawks close but the Highlanders took a 12-6 lead shortly thereafter. UT Martin claimed eight of the next 10 points – including a pair of Mott service aces and two kills from Wallick – to even the score at 14-14. Wallick rose high for two more rally killers as the score was evened up at 16-all but Radford managed to end the stanza on a 9-1 surge. Wallick was incredibly efficient with five kills on six attempts while Mott posted five digs and two service aces.

The Skyhawks led by as many as three points in the decisive fifth set but once again, the Highlanders managed to claw their way out of the deficit. Scanlon and Baylark each had two kills as UT Martin posted an 8-5 lead. Vaughn added a kill and a Radford attack error made the score 10-7 in favor of the Skyhawks but the Highlanders were responsible for eight of the final 10 points. Scanlon chalked up five of UT Martin's 13 digs in the final set.

IUPUI
The duo of Scanlon (career-highs of 19 kills and six service aces) and Paulino (double-double of 27 assists and 10 digs) helped the Skyhawks power past IUPUI to round out Day 1 of the Colonel Classic.

Paulino got things started with back-to-back service aces before a Mia Saenz service ace extended UT Martin's lead out to 11-7 in the first set. A quick 6-1 run from the Jaguars led to a 13-12 Skyhawk deficit but two Lucas kills helped UT Martin flip its deficit into a 20-17 lead. IUPUI battled back and eventually had set point at 24-22 but the Skyhawks wrapped up the set with four straight points – including a kill and solo block from Bryant. Scanlon had four kills while Paulino divvied out six assists to go along with her aforementioned two service aces in the opening stanza.

Kills from Scanlon and Saenz aided UT Martin during an 8-7 start to the second set. Coming out of a Jaguar timeout, IUPUI posted a 9-3 run and eventually led by as many as six points (20-14). The Skyhawks didn't hang their heads as a Vaughn kill ignited a 6-1 run to get UT Martin right back in the thick of things. Scanlon went off for a trio of kills in the span of four points that evened the score at 24-24. Paulino followed with a kill of her own to keep the score knotted at 25-all but the Jaguars were able to even the match at 1-1 following two straight points. Scanlon (eight kills in 11 swings) and Mott (11 digs) guided the Skyhawks offensively and defensively, respectively.

Scanlon had three kills through UT Martin's first six points of the third stanza before landing a service ace to make the score 8-5 in favor of the Skyhawks. IUPUI followed with nine of the next 10 points but UT Martin soon trimmed its deficit to 17-15 after a Kayla Carrell service ace. The Skyhawks eventually pulled within a single point (22-21) following a Saenz kill and back-to-back Jaguar attack errors but that was ultimately as close as they would get as IUPUI held on to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Bryant and Scanlon each secured three kills apiece to lead UT Martin offensively.

Bryant came out swinging in the fourth set, sparking the Skyhawks with four straight kills as part of a 9-3 advantage. Following a Baylark kill that pushed UT Martin's lead out to 15-9, the Jaguars scored three straight points but the Skyhawks would not allow IUPUI to get any closer than three points the rest of the way. Scanlon had back-to-back service aces while Lucas was responsible for three of UT Martin's final four points (two kills and a service ace) to cap off a dominant stanza. Bryant had four kills on a .500 hitting percentage while Scanlon registered three service aces in the fourth set.

The fifth set was a back-and-forth affair from the start, accumulating eight ties and five lead changes. Scanlon had kills on each of the Skyhawks' first two points but the Jaguars jumped out to a 4-2 lead. Both teams then swapped 4-0 runs before a Bryant kill gave UT Martin a 9-8 advantage. IUPUI raced back to nab four of the next five points and eventually held a 13-12 lead but the Skyhawks turned up the intensity on the defensive side, concluding the match with three assisted blocks in the final four points. Baylark had a hand in two of the three swats, including teaming up with Scanlon on match point. Baylark had three block assists during the abbreviated fifth set while Scanlon provided three of UT Martin's six kills.