Skyhawks Fall At Defending OVC Regular Season Champion Southeast Missouri

Wednesday, September 24

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

6 p.m.

UT Martin

1-11,0-1OVC

Southeast Missouri

8-5,1-0OVC

UT Martin

Southeast Mo. St.

Skyhawks Fall At Defending OVC Regular Season Champion Southeast Missouri

9/24/2025 9:17:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Stats PDF

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball squad ran into a hot Southeast Missouri team in its Ohio Valley Conference opener this evening, falling 3-0 (25-9, 25-18, 25-16) at Houck Field House.

The Skyhawks were led defensively tonight by Kylie Surratt's 12 digs while Abby Freund followed closely behind with 11 scoops. Ava Peters tallied 21 assists while Kayla Bryant (seven kills, seven digs) and Kristin Phillips (six kills, one block) each scored a team-best eight points for UT Martin.

Coming off a 15-3 OVC record last fall, the Redhawks scored the first eight points of the match. The Skyhawks responded with a pair of Bryant kills – sandwiched around a kill from Carly Mueller – to wrap up a 4-0 run and slice their deficit in half at 8-4. However, Southeast Missouri answered with 15 of the next 18 points to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Bryant (three kills) and Freund (five digs) led UT Martin in the first set.

A Phillips kill got the Skyhawks on the scoreboard early in the middle stanza before Mueller delivered back-to-back kills for UT Martin. Bryant and Phillips slammed down kills on consecutive possessions to get the Skyhawks within four (11-7) but that was ultimately as close as UT Martin would get for the remainer of the set. Phillips accounted for a team-high four kills while Peters handed out 11 assists for a Skyhawk offense that had 13 kills on a .222 attack percentage in the second set.

Just as she did in the second stanza, Phillips opened UT Martin's scoring with a kill for the first point on either side in a back-and-forth early portion of the third set. Kills from Surratt and Bryant helped the Skyhawks stay within a single point (8-7) before a 9-3 Redhawk run midway through the set. A service ace by Peters helped UT Martin reel off four unanswered points late but the deficit was too much for the Skyhawks to overcome. Surratt came away with team-highs in kills (two) and digs (six) in the final set.

After 12 matches at road or neutral sites to begin the season, UT Martin finally makes its home debut next week against OVC foe Little Rock. First serve on Tuesday, Sept. 30 is set for 6 p.m. inside Skyhawk Fieldhouse.