By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – The grueling Ohio Valley Conference schedule got off on the right foot for the University of Tennessee at Martin this evening as the Skyhawks defeated Tennessee State in four sets (25-18, 27-25, 22-25, 25-17).
UT Martin (7-7, 1-0 OVC) extended its winning streak over it in-state league rival to seven matches and also won its seventh consecutive OVC opener at home.
The Skyhawks received double-doubles from Kambree Lucas and Haeleigh Paulino tonight while also seeing many other contributors play a big role in the victory. Lucas corralled the first double-double of her young career with 10 kills to go along with a career-best 20 digs. Meanwhile, Paulino registered 40 assists and 12 digs as UT Martin set a season-high in assists (56) on the way to a .235 team hitting percentage.
Karen Scanlon (match-high 16 kills) and Logan Wallick (13 kills) gave the Skyhawks an imposing threat on the offensive end while Dylan Mott (19 digs) and Mia Saenz (team-best four blocks) shored up UT Martin’s defensive efforts.
The first set was mostly all Skyhawks as UT Martin jumped out to a 7-3 advantage. The Tigers answered with back-to-back points but a pair of Wallick kills bookended a 4-0 surge which resulted in a 14-7 Skyhawk lead. Tennessee State would not get any closer than four points for the remainder of the stanza as Scanlon dialed up four kills in a 10-point stretch before a Ryan Rednour service ace completed the opening set. Scanlon had six kills on seven swings while Paulino distributed 15 assists for an offense that hit .478 in the first set.
A total of 10 tie scores and four lead changes took place in the second set before UT Martin took a commanding 2-0 advantage. The Skyhawks earned their first two points of the stanza via Scanlon kills but the Tigers were not rattled, taking a 10-4 lead early. Wallick and Scanlon then both accounted for two kills in the midst of a 10-2 UT Martin tun to tilt the score back in favor of the Skyhawks at 14-12. Tennessee State quickly responded with five consecutive points to go back on top but UT Martin quickly snatched the lead right back as a Wallick kill made the score 23-21. Three more ties would follow but the Skyhawks broke through after a block assist from Saenz and Scanlon paved the way for set point. Lucas had eight digs as UT Martin scooped up a remarkable 31 digs in the second set alone, limiting the Tigers to an .018 attack percentage.
A sweep appeared to be near before a lengthy Tennessee State run forced a fourth set. Paulino was responsible for a service ace, a kill and six assists while the Skyhawks opened up a 9-6 advantage. The Tigers then reeled off eight unanswered points, flipping their deficit into a 14-9 lead. UT Martin kept hanging around thanks to kills from four different hitters (Saenz, Wallick, Scanlon, Lucas) and eventually fought off set point three times to pull within two points. However, Tennessee State used a timeout to regroup and came away with a kill to side out and send the match to a fourth stanza. The Skyhawks hit .289 with only two errors in the third set but it was to no avail.
Ten unanswered points proved to be the difference in the fourth set as UT Martin maintained control midway through the stanza. Both sides traded blows early as an 8-8 score was already the sixth tie of the set. The Skyhawks went on top by a slim 10-9 margin before the aforementioned 10-0 surge, keyed by three kills from Lucas during that span. The Tigers would get no closer than seven points the rest of the way as Lucas fittingly ended the match with her 10th kill to give her an impressive double-double. The duo of Wallick and Lucas joined forces for eight kills in 14 swings in the final set as UT Martin hit .342 as a team.
The Skyhawks travel to OVC newcomer Little Rock over the weekend, taking on the Trojans at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 23 before a 4 p.m. showdown on Saturday, Sept. 24.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information