After dropping the first two sets this evening, the UTM volleyball squad fought back to force a fifth set but couldn’t complete the comeback bid in a 3-2 loss at Murray State (16-25, 26-28, 25-20, 25-22, 5-15).
The Skyhawks’ hitting percentage gradually improved through four sets but UTM could not find its momentum in the fifth set, hitting -.125 and siding out at 33 percent. On the flipside, the host Racers hit .455 and sided out at 100 percent in the final set.
Kenzie Hinshaw (match-high 50 assists, 10 digs, seven kills) and Karen Scanlon (13 kills, team-best 17 digs, five blocks) each had double-doubles for the Skyhawks. Logan Wallick and Addison Conley collected team-highs of 16 kills and 13 kills, respectively.
UTM’s defense had five players in double figures in the digs column as Baillie Kearns (16), Dylan Mott (12) and Kayla Carrell (10) joined Hinshaw and Scanlon. At the net, Zoe Merriweather came away with six blocks for the Skyhawks, who are now 5-2 overall.
Lucia was responsible for a pair of early kills while Conley followed with two straight kills as UTM jumped out to a 10-8 advantage. The Skyhawks kept a two-point lead at 11-9 after Hinshaw’s first kill of the night but Murray State scored four unanswered points to briefly take a lead. A block assist by Wallick and Merriweather evened the score at 13-all but the Racers scored 12 of the final 15 points down the stretch to take a 1-0 lead. Hinshaw’s eight assists and two kills led the way for UT Martin.
The Skyhawks came out on fire in the second set, taking a 6-2 lead after Scanlon earned a kill and two blocks during that span. Murray State answered with four straight points to build the drama of a set that featured 16 ties and eight lead changes. A kill by Wallick gave UTM a 19-17 edge but the Racers retook the lead late. Kills by Hinshaw and Merriweather kept the Skyhawks alive on set point but Murray State eventually registered back-to-back points for the 28-26 win. Kearns (seven digs), Merriweather (four blocks) and Scanlon (four blocks) guided the way for UTM defensively.
The Skyhawks never trailed in the third set, as Scanlon opened the stanza with back-to-back kills. Conley had three kills in a span of six points as UTM took a 13-7 advantage. Moments later, the Racers unreeled five consecutive points to close within one point but the Skyhawks scored four of the next five points to go on top by an 18-14 margin after another Conley kill. Murray State wouldn’t get any closer than two points the rest of the way as an assisted block by Scanlon and Merriweather clinched the set in favor of UTM. The duo of Conley and Scanlon shared the team lead with four kills apiece.
Facing an 11-8 deficit in the fourth set, the Skyhawks clawed back thanks to an 8-0 run midway through the stanza. Wallick had three kills to spark the surge before a Mott service ace extended UTM’s lead out to 16-11. Wallick tallied three more kills over a stretch of four Skyhawk points but the Racers managed to sneak back within two at 24-22. Not surprisingly, it was Wallick who forced a fifth set with her ninth kill of the stanza for set point. Wallick hit .500 (only one error in 16 swings) in the fourth set alone.
Unfortunately, UTM found itself in a 6-0 hole to start the tiebreaking fifth set. Scanlon and Jessica Reynolds racked up kills to make the score 7-2 but Murray State scored five of the next six points on its way to the win.
The Skyhawks will look to even the season series against the Racers tomorrow when these two teams meet up for a 4 p.m. matchup in Murray, Kentucky.
