Skyhawks Soar To First Victory On Final Day Of Carrie Yerty Classic; Freund And Peters Nab All-Tournament Accolades

Saturday, September 13

Memphis, Tenn.

11 a.m.

UT Martin

1-6,0-0OVC

Lamar

4-7,0-0Southland

Lamar University

UT Martin

Skyhawks Soar To First Victory On Final Day Of Carrie Yerty Classic; Freund And Peters Nab All-Tournament Accolades

9/13/2025 11:43:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Stats PDF (Lamar)Stats PDF (Memphis)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball squad soared to its first victory of the young 2025 campaign today, downing Lamar in five sets (25-18, 19-25, 25-22, 25-27, 16-14) at the Carrie Yerty Classic. The Skyhawks played their second of back-to-back matches later on in the afternoon, claiming the first set before falling 3-1 to tournament host Memphis (25-15, 12-25, 18-25, 18-25).

Abby Freund paced UT Martin defensively today with a whopping 48 digs (5.33 per set) in the two matches. Carly Mueller also stood out for the Skyhawk defense with nine blocks (1.00 per set) – including a career-best seven swats in the day's finale against Memphis.

On the offensive side, Ava Peters handed out a career-high 52 of her 71 assists on the day in the victory over Lamar as her 52 assists were the most for any UT Martin player since March 29, 2021. Kristin Phillips smoked a career-best 15 of her team-high 22 kills on the day in the win against Lamar while Kylie Surratt followed just behind with 21 kills today. Kayla Bryant added seven service aces on the day for the Skyhawks (1-7).

Following today's matches, Freund and Peters were selected to the Carrie Yerty Classic All-Tournament squad. Freund tallied 72 digs (5.54 per set) with 11 assists over the weekend while Peters divvied out 117 assists (9.75 per set) with 11 kills in the three matches for UT Martin.

The Skyhawks close out nonconference play next weekend, traveling to Macon, Ga. for the Mercer Invitational. UT Martin will take on North Dakota and West Georgia on Friday, Sept. 19 before squaring off against Mercer on Saturday, Sept. 20.

Lamar
The Skyhawks came out on top in a five-set thriller that included 29 tie scores and 14 lead changes.

Sienna Wnetrzak had three kills in a four-point span early in the opening set as UT Martin jumped out to a 15-8 lead. Two straight kills by Phillips helped the Skyhawks open up a 19-10 advantage before the Cardinals closed to within five points at 22-17. UT Martin bounced right back to take a 1-0 lead after a Surratt kill on set point. Phillips had five kills on a .375 hitting percentage while Peters dished out 12 assists for an offense that hit .324 in 37 swings.

Peters had two kills and a service ace early in the second stanza to give the Skyhawks a 5-4 edge. Lamar (4-7) used a run to eventually go ahead by a 19-12 margin but UT Martin bounced back to pull within striking distance after a Mueller kill made the score 22-19. However, the Cardinals scored three unanswered points to even the match at 1-all. Mueller led the way with four kills while Freund came away with eight scoops in the second set alone.

The Skyhawks overcame a 6-2 deficit in the third set to take a 2-1 advantage in the match. A block assist from Surratt and Phillips gave UT Martin its first lead of the set (11-10) as the Skyhawks seized control from there. Maddy Gladson landed back-to-back kills to extend UT Martin's advantage to 19-14 as the Skyhawks ended the set with four of the last five points. Gladson was responsible for five kills on a .500 attack percentage as Freund accumulated seven digs in the middle set.

Lamar took a 7-3 advantage in the fourth set, which included nine ties and four lead changes. After UT Martin trailed 16-9, Chyler Martin went on a tear with three consecutive kills to ignite a Skyhawk rally. Eventually, UT Martin battled all the way back for a 21-20 lead before five ties followed for the remainder of the set. The Cardinals staved off set point with kills from Dylan Sulcer and Phillips but Lamar forced a fifth set. Martin had four kills in five attempts as the Skyhawks had 17 kills in the fourth set.

Surratt slammed down back-to-back kills midway through the final set – propelling UT Martin to its first lead at 9-8. Following a Mueller kill that gave the Skyhawks an 11-9 edge, four more ties followed in an intense back-and-forth duel. UT Martin fought off match point at 14-13 to rally for the win as kills from Bryant, Gladson and Phillips closed out the victory. Surratt and Mueller each had four kills while Peters (11 assists) and Freund (11 digs) had phenomenal efforts in the shortened fifth set.

Memphis
The Skyhawks carried over the momentum from their first match into the opening set but the host Tigers (7-2) mounted a comeback victory in the second of back-to-back outings for UT Martin.

Five ties and two lead changes took place in the early stages of the first set before the Skyhawks opened up a commanding run en route to the win. Memphis led 8-6 but UT Martin answered with an extended surge. Bryant dialed up three service aces in a stretch of six points as the Skyhawks went on a 10-1 run. An assisted block from Mueller and Gladson resulted in a double-digit UT Martin advantage (22-12) on the way to the win. Surratt (four kills on a .444 attack percentage) and Mueller (four blocks) helped the Skyhawks get off to a good start.

The Tigers took an early lead in the second set to tie up the match at 1-all. Bryant had a pair of kills through UT Martin's first four points but Memphis proved to be too much, turning a 16-4 start into a 25-12 win. Freund had five of the Skyhawks' 13 digs in the second stanza.

Phillips got UT Martin on the scoreboard with back-to-back kills in the third set, leading to a 5-1 Skyhawk advantage. The Tigers took a brief lead before a solo Phillips block tied the score at 11-11. Memphis reclaimed the advantage before a Gladson rally killer made the tally 18-16 and put UT Martin in position for a comeback. However, the Tigers scored seven of the final nine points of the set. Phillips (four kills, .333 hitting percentage) shined offensively while Freund had six digs in the third stanza.

Memphis scored five of the first six points in the fourth set. Surratt had two kills in a three-point stretch to temporarily cool off the Tiger momentum but Memphis went on a 6-1 run afterwards. An assisted block from Ella McFarland and Mueller willed the Skyhawks back within two points at 18-16 but ultimately that was as close as UT Martin would get the rest of the way despite a valiant effort. Surratt and Peters guided the Skyhawks with three kills and seven assists, respectively.