Thursday, November 9
Martin, Tenn.
7:30 p.m.
UT Martin
vs
Little Rock
SKYHAWK VOLLEYBALL HOLDS FINAL TWO HOME MATCHES OF THE SEASON AGAINST LITTLE ROCK; SENIOR NIGHT SET FOR FRIDAY
11/8/2023 8:08:00 AM | Volleyball
MARTIN, Tenn. – The last pair of home outings for the 2023 University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball squad are on tap this week as the Skyhawks will host Ohio Valley Conference rival Little Rock. First serve times are set for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9 and 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 10.
Senior Night festivities will take place before Friday's match as five UT Martin players will be recognized for their career contributions. The group of Kayla Carrell, Zoe Merriweather, Haeleigh Paulino, Ryan Rednour and Olivia Saunders have combined for 758 kills, 2,361 assists, 142 service aces, 2,063 digs and 286 blocks in their Skyhawk careers.
A 5-6 libero from Pensacola, Fla., Carrell ranks fifth in the OVC with a 4.94 digs per set average in league matches this fall. Now in her fifth season with the program, she has racked up 961 digs and is on the verge of becoming only the 13th UT Martin player to scoop up 1,000 digs for a career.
Merriweather is a four-year member of the Skyhawks as the 6-1 middle blocker out of Hernando, Miss. has rejected 1.01 blocks per set over her career, ranking 10th in school history in that category. Her best season came during the 2020-21 campaign when she became only the seventh player in the school's NCAA Division I history (since 1992) to lead the team in blocks as a freshman.
Currently ranking in the top-10 in school history in both service aces (114, fifth) and assists (2,152, sixth) is Paulino, a 5-9 setter who hails from Peoria, Ariz. Earlier this season, the five-year member of the UT Martin program accumulated her first triple-double with 10 kills, 32 assists and 10 digs in an OVC triumph over Tennessee State.
Rednour joined the Skyhawks in 2022 after two seasons at Southern Illinois. The 5-9 Huntertown, Ind. native has played 40 matches in a UT Martin uniform and filled a variety of roles – tallying 88 digs and 14 service aces while also topping the Skyhawks with a 10-kill performance earlier this year against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Achieving All-OVC second team accolades in 2021 was Saunders, who transferred in from Wake Forest. The 6-2 middle blocker out of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada has produced 434 kills on a .268 hitting percentage (fifth-best mark in school history) to go along with 173 blocks (0.93 per set). She leads the Skyhawks in all three of those same categories (221 kills, .260 attack percentage, 83 blocks) this fall.
UT Martin (8-16, 6-8 OVC) is back in action for the first time since Oct. 28 as the Skyhawks rested up after an unusual bye weekend to open the month of November. UT Martin will look to sweep the Trojans for the second consecutive season as Little Rock is making just its second trip to Skyhawk Fieldhouse in the all-time series (also visiting in 2019, a 3-1 UT Martin victory).
The Trojans (7-18, 4-10 OVC) enters the week on a three-match skid albeit all three decisions were against OVC co-leaders Eastern Illinois and Southeast Missouri. Sophomore Daedrianna Cail tops the OVC in blocks per set (1.27 in league play) and additionally ranks amongst the league's best in service aces (0.39 per set, third), blocks per set (1.05, fifth), hitting percentage (.309, sixth) and points (3.47 per set, 10th).
Friday's match will be streamed live on ESPN+ - those links in addition to links to live stats for both Thursday and Friday can be found above.
Senior Night festivities will take place before Friday's match as five UT Martin players will be recognized for their career contributions. The group of Kayla Carrell, Zoe Merriweather, Haeleigh Paulino, Ryan Rednour and Olivia Saunders have combined for 758 kills, 2,361 assists, 142 service aces, 2,063 digs and 286 blocks in their Skyhawk careers.
A 5-6 libero from Pensacola, Fla., Carrell ranks fifth in the OVC with a 4.94 digs per set average in league matches this fall. Now in her fifth season with the program, she has racked up 961 digs and is on the verge of becoming only the 13th UT Martin player to scoop up 1,000 digs for a career.
Merriweather is a four-year member of the Skyhawks as the 6-1 middle blocker out of Hernando, Miss. has rejected 1.01 blocks per set over her career, ranking 10th in school history in that category. Her best season came during the 2020-21 campaign when she became only the seventh player in the school's NCAA Division I history (since 1992) to lead the team in blocks as a freshman.
Currently ranking in the top-10 in school history in both service aces (114, fifth) and assists (2,152, sixth) is Paulino, a 5-9 setter who hails from Peoria, Ariz. Earlier this season, the five-year member of the UT Martin program accumulated her first triple-double with 10 kills, 32 assists and 10 digs in an OVC triumph over Tennessee State.
Rednour joined the Skyhawks in 2022 after two seasons at Southern Illinois. The 5-9 Huntertown, Ind. native has played 40 matches in a UT Martin uniform and filled a variety of roles – tallying 88 digs and 14 service aces while also topping the Skyhawks with a 10-kill performance earlier this year against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Achieving All-OVC second team accolades in 2021 was Saunders, who transferred in from Wake Forest. The 6-2 middle blocker out of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada has produced 434 kills on a .268 hitting percentage (fifth-best mark in school history) to go along with 173 blocks (0.93 per set). She leads the Skyhawks in all three of those same categories (221 kills, .260 attack percentage, 83 blocks) this fall.
UT Martin (8-16, 6-8 OVC) is back in action for the first time since Oct. 28 as the Skyhawks rested up after an unusual bye weekend to open the month of November. UT Martin will look to sweep the Trojans for the second consecutive season as Little Rock is making just its second trip to Skyhawk Fieldhouse in the all-time series (also visiting in 2019, a 3-1 UT Martin victory).
The Trojans (7-18, 4-10 OVC) enters the week on a three-match skid albeit all three decisions were against OVC co-leaders Eastern Illinois and Southeast Missouri. Sophomore Daedrianna Cail tops the OVC in blocks per set (1.27 in league play) and additionally ranks amongst the league's best in service aces (0.39 per set, third), blocks per set (1.05, fifth), hitting percentage (.309, sixth) and points (3.47 per set, 10th).
Friday's match will be streamed live on ESPN+ - those links in addition to links to live stats for both Thursday and Friday can be found above.
Players Mentioned
L/DS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
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/ Volleyball
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/ Volleyball
MB
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