By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – A season-high hitting percentage led to a sweep for the University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball squad over Tennessee Tech (25-20, 25-18, 25-22) this evening at Skyhawk Fieldhouse.
The Skyhawks hit .302 as a team, breezing past their previous season-high of .290 against Eastern Illinois on Oct. 2. UT Martin slammed down 44 kills against just 12 errors in 106 swings, rolling to its fourth consecutive victory in the all-time series against the Golden Eagles.
Karen Scanlon led the charge for the Skyhawks as the senior from Scottsdale, Ariz. collected a match-high 11 kills with just one error for a .435 attack percentage. Olivia Saunders posted eight kills on a .333 hitting percentage to go along with a match-best seven blocks while Logan Wallick (eight kills), Haeleigh Paulino (19 assists) and Addy Vaughn (10 assists) played big for UT Martin.
Dylan Mott came away with a team-high nine digs while Baillie Kearns scooped up seven digs for the Skyhawks, who improved to 13-13 overall with a 9-4 Ohio Valley Conference record.
UT Martin’s offensive attack was blazing from the start as the Skyhawks hit .412 with 16 kills in the opening set. After Tennessee Tech (11-13, 6-7 OVC) took a 5-2 advantage, UT Martin responded with an 8-1 run that included kills from Saunders, Addison Conley, Vaughn and Wallick. The Golden Eagles took a brief 13-12 lead but Scanlon came right back with three straight kills to flip the score back in favor of the Skyhawks, who concluded the set with five of the final six points. Scanlon (six kills) and Saunders (five kills) each did not commit an error in the first set, combining for a .733 hitting percentage.
The Skyhawks trailed early in the second set but quickly turned things around as a 10-3 run led to a 12-6 UT Martin advantage. The Golden Eagles got back within two points at 15-13 but an Olivia Lucia kill ignited a 5-0 run that was capped off by Mott’s second service ace of the set. Saunders then had a say in three of the Skyhawks’ next four points (two kills and a service ace) before a Vaughn kill provided UT Martin with a 2-0 lead in the match. Saunders paced the Skyhawks both offensively (team-best three kills) and defensively (match-high five blocks) in the second stanza.
The third set included 12 ties and four lead changes but UT Martin was able to put Tennessee Tech away in convincing fashion. Lucia registered back-to-back kills for the Skyhawks early but a 7-3 Golden Eagle run resulted in a 13-11 UT Martin deficit. The Skyhawks immediately followed with a 5-1 surge, beginning with a kill from Paulino. The score was eventually knotted at 21-all but UT Martin reeled off three straight kills coming out of a timeout as Wallick, Lucia and Conley each posted rally killers. Moments later, Scanlon completed her successful night with a kill on match point to give the Skyhawks the victory. Conley was a perfect 4-for-4 on kills-to-swings ratio while tacking on a team-best four digs in the final set.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information