Friday, September 22
Martin, Tenn.
6 p.m.
UT Martin
vs
Eastern Illinois
Photo by: UT Martin Sports Information
SKYHAWK VOLLEYBALL BEGINS OVC TITLE DEFENSE THIS WEEKEND WITH HOME-OPENING SERIES AGAINST EASTERN ILLINOIS
9/21/2023 12:42:00 PM | Volleyball
MARTIN, Tenn. – A pair of openers are on tap for the University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball squad this weekend as the Skyhawks start Ohio Valley Conference play with its first home matches of the season against Eastern Illinois. First serve is set for 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 22 and 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23.
The first 200 UT Martin students to attend Friday's match can receive a free taco as part of a "Fiesta Friday" promotion.
The Skyhawks have won their last seven OVC openers at home and have come out on top in seven of the last eight decisions against the Panthers, including five in a row at home. These two squads split a pair of thrilling five-set matches last season, playing back-to-back matches on the same day in Charleston.
This weekend will be the first time in over 10 months that UT Martin has played in Skyhawk Fieldhouse as it last had a home match in the 2022 OVC Championship tournament semifinals. UT Martin won its first OVC regular season championship in two decades last fall and its title defense officially begins this weekend after 10 nonconference games at road or neutral sites in 2023.
The Skyhawks (2-8) are paced by Olivia Saunders, who ranks fifth in the OVC in attack percentage (.321) and 10th in blocks (0.89 per set). The graduate middle blocker has chipped in 2.25 kills per set, which ranks just behind Kayla Bryant (84 kills, 2.27 per set) and Jenna Vallée (43 kills, 2.26 per set) for the team lead. Haeleigh Paulino (162 assists, 4.26 per set) and Addy Vaughn (158 assists, 4.16 per set) have split duties at setter while Paulino and Bryant share the team lead with nine service aces apiece.
Defensively, Dylan Mott ranks 10th in the OVC with a 3.40 digs per set average. Kayla Carrell is coming off a career-best 29-dig performance in UT Martin's nonconference finale against Oakland last Friday in her first extensive action as libero in 2023. Against Eastern Illinois last season, Mott collected 39 digs (3.90 per set) while Mia Saenz rejected 15 blocks (1.50 per set).
Eastern Illinois (11-1, 1-0 OVC) began the fall on a 10-match winning streak and opened OVC play with a five-set home win over Southern Indiana on Monday. The Panthers rank fourth in NCAA Division I volleyball in service aces (107, 2.43 per set) and also top the OVC in hitting percentage (.276), opponent hitting percentage (.164) and kills (13.64 per set).
Four different Eastern Illinois players have earned OVC Player of the Week honors so far in 2023, including Natalie Mitchem (OVC kills leader with 3.88 per set), Giovana Larregui Lopez (first in OVC with 0.63 service aces per set), Catalina Rochaix (OVC assists leader with 10.54 per set) and Christina Martinez Mundo (second in OVC with 5.36 digs per set).
Both matches this weekend will be streamed live on ESPN+ as those links plus links to live stats for both matches can be found above.
The first 200 UT Martin students to attend Friday's match can receive a free taco as part of a "Fiesta Friday" promotion.
The Skyhawks have won their last seven OVC openers at home and have come out on top in seven of the last eight decisions against the Panthers, including five in a row at home. These two squads split a pair of thrilling five-set matches last season, playing back-to-back matches on the same day in Charleston.
This weekend will be the first time in over 10 months that UT Martin has played in Skyhawk Fieldhouse as it last had a home match in the 2022 OVC Championship tournament semifinals. UT Martin won its first OVC regular season championship in two decades last fall and its title defense officially begins this weekend after 10 nonconference games at road or neutral sites in 2023.
The Skyhawks (2-8) are paced by Olivia Saunders, who ranks fifth in the OVC in attack percentage (.321) and 10th in blocks (0.89 per set). The graduate middle blocker has chipped in 2.25 kills per set, which ranks just behind Kayla Bryant (84 kills, 2.27 per set) and Jenna Vallée (43 kills, 2.26 per set) for the team lead. Haeleigh Paulino (162 assists, 4.26 per set) and Addy Vaughn (158 assists, 4.16 per set) have split duties at setter while Paulino and Bryant share the team lead with nine service aces apiece.
Defensively, Dylan Mott ranks 10th in the OVC with a 3.40 digs per set average. Kayla Carrell is coming off a career-best 29-dig performance in UT Martin's nonconference finale against Oakland last Friday in her first extensive action as libero in 2023. Against Eastern Illinois last season, Mott collected 39 digs (3.90 per set) while Mia Saenz rejected 15 blocks (1.50 per set).
Eastern Illinois (11-1, 1-0 OVC) began the fall on a 10-match winning streak and opened OVC play with a five-set home win over Southern Indiana on Monday. The Panthers rank fourth in NCAA Division I volleyball in service aces (107, 2.43 per set) and also top the OVC in hitting percentage (.276), opponent hitting percentage (.164) and kills (13.64 per set).
Four different Eastern Illinois players have earned OVC Player of the Week honors so far in 2023, including Natalie Mitchem (OVC kills leader with 3.88 per set), Giovana Larregui Lopez (first in OVC with 0.63 service aces per set), Catalina Rochaix (OVC assists leader with 10.54 per set) and Christina Martinez Mundo (second in OVC with 5.36 digs per set).
Both matches this weekend will be streamed live on ESPN+ as those links plus links to live stats for both matches can be found above.
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
S/OPP
/ VolleyballSkyhawk Sports Talk - Season 3, Episode 3
Tuesday, September 09
Skyhawk Sports Talk - Season 3, Episode 2
Tuesday, September 02
Skyhawk Sports Talk - Season 3, Episode 1
Monday, August 25
Skyhawk Sports Talk - Season 2, Episode 11
Thursday, April 10