By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Behind a stellar defensive showing, the University of Tennessee at Martin outlasted the host Southeast Missouri Redhawks in a five-set road victory (25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 23-25, 15-13) against its Ohio Valley Conference foe at Houck Field House.
Tonight’s win was the Skyhawks’ first in Cape Girardeau since 2015 as UT Martin improves to 6-10 overall with a 2-1 mark against OVC competition. The Skyhawks combined to turn away 19 blocks this evening, which was seven more than any previous match this season and is the program’s most since 19 rejections against Florida A&M on Sept. 2, 2018.
Leading the way for UT Martin was Zoe Merriweather as the redshirt freshman from Hernando, Miss. stymied Southeast Missouri (10-5, 1-2 OVC) with a career-high 10 blocks while also tallying a season-best nine kills. Karen Scanlon (team-high 12 kills on a .282 hitting percentage, team-best 16 digs) and Haeleigh Paulino (23 assists, 13 digs) also nabbed double-doubles for the Skyhawks.
Addison Conley and Francela Ulate were each responsible for 11 kills while Kayla Carrell (career-high 13) and Baillie Kearns (12) both reached double figures in the digs column. Logan Wallick (nine kills, career-best eight blocks) and Addy Vaughn (16 assists) were additional contributors to the Skyhawk victory.
The opening set included 13 tie scores and six lead changes. A block assist by Conley and Scanlon resulted in a 5-2 UT Martin advantage before two Merriweather kills in a three-point span made the score 11-9 in favor of the Skyhawks. Scanlon soon came away with three straight kills for UT Martin but the Redhawks used a 5-1 run to briefly go ahead. With the score knotted at 21-all, Wallick provided three straight kills before an assisted block out of Conley and Scanlon proved to be set point. The Skyhawk offense hit .290 in the first stanza, paced by Scanlon’s four kills in five swings.
The duo of Wallick and Conley combined for four kills in UT Martin’s first six points of the second stanza, setting the tone for a 7-3 Skyhawk advantage. Scanlon’s third kill of the set pushed UT Martin’s lead out to 13-9 but Southeast Missouri answered with three straight points. That was ultimately as close as the Redhawks would get the rest of the set as Scanlon slammed down three kills out of the Skyhawks’ final four points. Scanlon hit .545 with six kills (against no miscues) in 11 attempts as UT Martin hit .343 (15 kills, three errors in 35 swings.
It appeared a sweep was on the horizon as the Skyhawks led for most of the third set. Ulate (kill) and Kearns (service ace) each had a hand in UT Martin opening up a 7-2 advantage early. Another Ulate kill made the score 13-7 before a Carrell service ace nudged the Skyhawk lead out to 15-10. Southeast Missouri battled back to tie the score at 19-19 but UT Martin was responsible for three of the next four points to lead 22-20. However, the Redhawks stayed alive by ending the set with five unanswered points. Paulino had team-highs with four digs for the Skyhawks in the middle stanza.
The fourth set opened with both teams alternating the first nine points before Southeast Missouri took a 9-6 lead. Two ties followed before UT Martin managed a 4-0 run that included a kill and block assist by both Merriweather and Conley. Merriweather had a block assist on three straight possessions to help the Skyhawks nab a 20-19 lead but the Redhawks unreeled four consecutive points to go on top by a 23-20 margin. Two more blocks pulled UT Martin back within one at 24-23 but Southeast Missouri was able to force a fifth set. The Skyhawks accumulated eight blocks in the fourth set alone, led by Wallick (five) and Merriweather (four).
UT Martin found itself trailing for a majority of the fifth set but the Skyhawks didn’t give up – concluding the match on a 7-1 surge. Trailing 12-8, Conley and Merriweather came through for back-to-back kills to force the Redhawks to burn a timeout. Scanlon then followed with a service ace and Conley spiked a kill on the next possession to knot the score at 12-all. A Southeast Missouri attack error gave UT Martin its first lead of the set before a Redhawk kill tied the score at 13-13. A critical moment followed as a Merriweather kill on a long rally gave the Skyhawks match point. The Redhawks committed an attack error on the next point to give UT Martin the victory. Scanlon scooped up a team-best six digs in the final set.
The Skyhawks now return home for a five-match homestand, starting this weekend against Eastern Illinois on Oct. 1-2.
Graphic Courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information