The Skyhawk Invitational for the volleyball team just concluded this past weekend, resulting in a disappointing 1-2 record for the team during the invitational.
On opening the day, the Skyhawks had a double-header of hot teams to go through in Evansville, who went into the weekend on a seven-game win streak, and Mercer, who won four out of five of their last games.
Evansville, the first team on UTM’s weekend schedule and who would go on to have a successful 3-0 run over the weekend, defeated UTM 3-1, with the closest margin being 25-20 in stanzas two and four.
Though the Skyhawks lost to the Purple Aces, they didn’t go down without a fight. Over the four stanzas of play, both teams played to 20 tie scores and nine lead changes before Evansville ultimately came away with the win, according to Sports Information.
Evansville rode a late 9-2 stretch in the first stanza to take set one and gain some early momentum going into the second set.
The Purple Aces went on a 6-2 urge in the second to comeback from a 7-5 Skyhawk lead, but an assisted block by sophomore outside hitter (OH) Logan Wallick and opposite (OPP) Jessica Reynolds brought UTM back and evened the score at 15.
The Skyhawks would go on to lose the second stanza but rebounded in the third with an early lead and 11 of the last 16 points. Sophomore defensive specialist (DS) Kayla Carrell recorded a service ace as well.
In the fourth and final stanza, the Skyhawks nearly were able to force a fifth stanza after trailing 24-20, but the cards didn’t play in UTM’s favor and the Purple Aces reigned victorious.
The second final opponent up for UTM one day one was Mercer, who had just won their first game against Little Rock earlier in the day.
Against UTM, Mercer kept its winning streak going in convincing fashion, sweeping the Skyhawks 3-0.
The Bears took an early lead in the first stanza, but lost it on account of several errors that allowed the Skyhawks to tie the game up at 10. Mercer struck back by scoring five of the next six points, forcing UTM to call a timeout.
The timeout proved useful, allowing the Skyhawks to trim the deficit down to one-point game. Despite this, the last 12 points went to Mercer, giving the Bears the first stanza.
Stanza two saw the Skyhawks jump out to a dominant 11-3 lead. Reynolds (five kills over a nine-point stretch) and Scanlon (three kills in the first seven UTM points) blazed the way for UTM.
The massive lead for UTM didn’t amount to much at the end of the stanza, as Mercer stormed their way back and regained the lead late into the set. The Bears rattled off a 3-0 stretch and claimed stanza two.
The third stanza didn’t kill off the Skyhawks momentum, as UTM nearly forced a fourth stanza with a 23-all tie. However, Mercer scored back-to-back points to win the matchup.
Though the Skyhawks were down 0-2 in the invitational, the final day provided a win for the volleyball squad.
Last on the list for UTM was the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The Skyhawks took game three with a decisive 3-1 win.
Wallick dominated game three, scoring 20 kills over the four stanzas. Scanlon, Reynolds and Walker also reached double-digits in kills.
Scanlon hit an even .500 and notched 10 digs for her first career double-double, according to Sports Information.
Scanlon’s other incredible statistics over the weekend, such as her 29 digs, eight blocks and .344 attacking percentage, got her named to the all-tournament team.
After a blowout in stanza one and close win in stanza two, the Skyhawks dropped the third stanzas but closed out the match in the fourth, improving the team’s overall record to 4-10.
