Season-High Hitting Percentage Leads UT Martin To Sweep Over Tennessee State

Thursday, November 13

Martin, Tenn.

6 p.m.

UT Martin

3-23,2-13OVC

Tennessee State

1-29,0-17OVC

Tennessee St.

UT Martin

Season-High Hitting Percentage Leads UT Martin To Sweep Over Tennessee State

11/13/2025 10:08:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Stats PDF

MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team found its stride late in the first set and never looked back tonight, soaring to a 3-0 sweep (25-19, 25-14, 25-21) over Ohio Valley Conference foe Tennessee State at Skyhawk Fieldhouse.

UT Martin trailed by an 18-13 margin in the opening set before a prolonged Skyhawk run flipped the momentum. UT Martin never trailed in the second and third sets to pick up a victory in the frontend of the final two home matches of the 2025 campaign.

Kayla Bryant led all players with 14 kills on a blistering .444 hitting percentage to go along with eight digs and a pair of service aces. Carly Mueller also had the hot hand on both ends this evening, picking up nine kills in 14 swings (.500 attack percentage) to go along with a match-high five blocks.

Ava Peters (31 assists, nine digs) and Dylan Sulcer (11 digs) additionally led the Skyhawks, who hit a season-best .239 tonight – topping the previous season-high by a sizeable 45 points.

Maddy Gladson accounted for the first two kills of the night as UT Martin raced out to a 5-1 lead. The Tigers then scored 16 of the next 23 points to go on top by five points late in the stanza. The Skyhawks responded right back with 12 of the final 13 points down the stretch, keyed by five kills by Bryant during that span. Overall, Bryant had seven kills on a .385 attack percentage while Peters dished out 11 assists in the first set.

UT Martin started the second set with four consecutive points as Ella McFarland had a hand in two points with a kill and block assist. After Tennessee State closed to within one point, the Skyhawks converted six unanswered points to create some separation. Kristin Phillips had three straight kills for UT Martin halfway through the stanza before another 5-0 UT Martin run in the waning moments officially sealed the deal. For the second straight set, the stingy Skyhawk defense held the Tigers to an .000 hitting percentage.

The duo of Mueller and McFarland teamed up for a block assist and had one kill apiece to help guide UT Martin to a 4-2 edge in the third set. A trio of Bryant kills in a four-point stretch extended the Skyhawk advantage out to 9-6. A McFarland kill capped off a 4-0 UT Martin run immediately following Tennessee State pulling back to within a single point (16-15). Bryant (kill) and Phillips/Peters (block assist apiece) then closed out the victory with the final two points of the evening. Bryant was responsible for five kills on a .556 attack percentage and a team-high five digs in the final stanza.

These two teams will get back after it tomorrow at 4 p.m. as the Skyhawks' Senior Day ceremony honoring Bryant and Phillips will take place approximately five minutes before first serve.