By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team defeated Ohio Valley Conference rival SIUE for the second time in as many days, posting a 3-2 victory (22-25, 25-16, 25-12, 21-25, 15-10) at First Community Arena.
Setting the tone for the Skyhawks offensively today was Olivia Saunders as the redshirt junior middle blocker out of Ontario, Canada managed a career-best 17 kills on a .382 hitting percentage. The 17 kills were four more than her previous season-high and three more than her prior career-best of 14, which was set when she played for Wake Forest on Oct. 29, 2020.
Logan Wallick and Karen Scanlon joined Saunders in double-digit kills, coming away with 11 and 10, respectively. Scanlon also added a dozen digs for her sixth double-double of the 2021 campaign. Haeleigh Paulino (26 assists, match-high four service aces) and Addy Vaughn (18) shared setter duties today while Dylan Mott (team-best 18 digs) and Zoe Merriweather (team-high five blocks) guided UT Martin defensively.
The Skyhawks (12-13, 8-4 OVC) led 3-0 to start the match but the host Cougars responded with an 8-0 run. After SIUE claimed a 16-10 lead, UT Martin crept back within a single point at 19-18 as an Audrey Haworth service ace capped off an 8-3 run. The Cougars tallied the next three points and despite a pair of late kills from Saunders, SIUE took the 1-0 advantage in the match. Mott made plays all over the court during the first set, registering eight digs.
Scanlon was responsible for a pair of kills and a block assist during the Skyhawks’ first eight points of the second set as UT Martin captured the early momentum. The Skyhawks turned a two-point advantage into a 20-11 lead thanks in large part to a 8-2 run, ending with a Mott service ace. Addison Conley came away with three kills in the span of six UT Martin points down the stretch to help the Skyhawks even the match at 1-all. Conley had four kills with no errors in seven attempts in the second set as UT Martin hit .286 as a team.
The Skyhawks dominated from start to finish in the third stanza, leading by as many as 13 points. Four kills from Saunders during a 10-2 run made the score 13-6 and provided UT Martin with some breathing room midway through the set. Paulino accounted for a pair of service aces and Mott tacked on another one during a 9-2 Skyhawk run, extending UT Martin’s lead out to 22-9. Saunders came away with back-to-back kills late as the Skyhawks took a 2-1 advantage. UT Martin hit .409 with 13 kills and four service aces in the third set as Saunders had six kills on a blazing .714 hitting percentage.
The fourth set included nine tie scores before SIUE battled back to force a fifth stanza. Scanlon (three) and Conley (two) combined for five kills during the Skyhawks’ first six points. Three more UT Martin players dialed up kills over its next five points as the score was evened up at 12-12. Baillie Kearns had a service ace during a 4-1 Skyhawk run that kept the score tied at 18-all but the Cougars scored seven of the last 10 points of the set. Scanlon amassed team-highs of four kills and five digs in the fourth set for UT Martin.
The Skyhawks trailed 6-2 to begin the fifth set but Saunders was a major contributor to a UT Martin offensive attack that hit .562 (10 kills against only one error) in 16 swings. Saunders produced five kills in six attempts – all coming during a seven-point stretch in which she also recorded a block assist. After her heroics, SIUE clawed back to even the score at 9-9 but the Skyhawks wrapped things up on a 6-1 run, including a pair of Wallick kills, two service aces from Paulino and a pair of block assists from Merriweather.
For the first time in 17 days, UT Martin will play in front of its home crowd when it hosts in-state OVC foe Tennessee Tech on Oct. 29-30 at Skyhawk Fieldhouse.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information