Balanced Offense Not Enough As Skyhawks Drop Close Decision To Morehead State

Friday, October 2

Martin, Tenn.

6 p.m.

UT Martin

6-8,1-2OVC

Morehead State

5-8,1-2OVC

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Morehead St.	25	21	27	30	3
UT Martin	19	25	25	28	1

Stats PDF

Balanced Offense Not Enough As Skyhawks Drop Close Decision To Morehead State

10/2/2026 10:26:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Stats PDF

MARTIN, Tenn. – A wildly competitive match that featured 49 ties and 21 lead changes went Morehead State's way tonight as the University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team fell in four sets (19-25, 25-21, 25-27, 28-30) in its Ohio Valley Conference home opener at Skyhawk Fieldhouse.

Maddy Gladson's second double-double (team-best 13 kills on a .333 hitting percentage, 11 digs) of the 2026 campaign guided four UT Martin players with double-digit kills. She was joined by Sophie Diouf (11 kills), Chyler Martin (11) and Rylee Key (10) as Dylan Sulcer (34 assists) and Reagan Hamm (15 assists) each saw playing time at setter.

The Skyhawk defense was led by Lauren Mariscal (14 digs) and Carly Mueller (four blocks) while Abby Freund landed a pair of service aces to go along with nine digs for the Skyhawks (6-8, 1-2 OVC).

Gladson managed a pair of kills in the first five points of the match as a 5-all score was already the fourth tie of the opening set. Soon thereafter, Key generated back-to-back UT Martin kills before a 9-4 Eagle run. Key and Mueller tacked on kills late to keep the Skyhawks within striking distance but Morehead State (5-8, 1-2 OVC) took the first stanza. Gladson and Key each had three kills to lead UT Martin.

The Skyhawks battled back to even the match at 2-1 after hitting .355 with 18 kills in the second set. Neither side led by more than two points until a Diouf kill provided the Skyhawks with a 10-7 advantage. The Eagles recovered to take a brief lead but a Luli Arcucci kill sparked a set-ending 8-3 run for UT Martin. Diouf had four kills on a flawless 1.000 hitting percentage while Hamm dished out a match-high eight assists in the second set.

The Skyhawks owned set point twice in the third set but fell victim to an Eagle comeback. Like the second set, neither team took more than a two-point lead until Morehead State was ahead 15-12 at the technical timeout. UT Martin trailed by as many as four (17-13) but raced back to take leads at 24-23 and 25-24 before the Eagles took the 2-1 lead in the match. Martin and Mueller led the Skyhawks with four kills and three blocks, respectively.

An action-packed fourth set included 18 tie scores and eight lead changes in itself. Back-to-back kills by Key helped UT Martin stretch out a 12-7 advantage but Morehead State answered with a 10-4 run. The Skyhawks trailed 23-21 but clawed back to earn set point after kills from Arcucci and Diouf on consecutive rallies made the score 25-24. However, the Eagles scored six of the final nine points of the contest. Gladson slammed down five kills with no errors in nine attempts (.556 attack percentage) while Sulcer distributed 14 assists in the final stanza.

These two squads wrap up their two-match series tomorrow as first serve from Skyhawk Fieldhouse is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.