Today’s volleyball match between the UTM and SIUE featured 24 tie scores and eight lead changes but the host Cougars handed the Skyhawks a 3-0 setback (28-30, 20-25, 21-25).
Logan Wallick keyed UTM with 13 kills today while the Skyhawks also received heavy contributions out of Jessica Reynolds (nine kills), Karen Scanlon (eight kills on a team-best .312 attack percentage) and Addy Vaughn (career-high seven kills). Kenzie Hinshaw handed out 34 assists for UTM, who falls to 5-7 on the season.
For the second consecutive day, libero Dylan Mott shined as the freshman out of Hendersonville, Tennessee, scooped up a team-high 21 digs. Vaughn pitched in a career-best 10 digs while Olivia Lucia swatted away a team-high three blocks.
The Skyhawks led for a majority of the first set before the Cougars (8-4) wound up on top after a back-and-forth ending. Reynolds collected three kills during UTM’s first four points before a 6-0 run gave the Skyhawks a 10-5 advantage. UTM held a 22-19 lead before SIUE scored three straight points to even the score. The two teams literally swapped points for 12 consecutive rallies as the Skyhawks reached set point on five different occasions before the Cougars recorded three straight points to escape with the win. Wallick and Reynolds each had six kills for UTM while Hinshaw assisted on 16 of the squad’s 20 kills.
The second set began a lot like the first as the Skyhawks jumped out to a 4-1 lead behind a pair of early kills out of Reynolds. SIUE gradually staged a comeback and took a brief lead but UTM kept fighting. During one stretch, Wallick dialed up three straight kills and moments later, Scanlon accomplished the same feat. After another Wallick kill helped shave the Skyhawk deficit to 18-17, the Cougars registered seven of the final 10 points to take a 2-0 lead in the match. Wallick’s five kills and Mott’s seven digs guided UTM in the second set.
The Skyhawks controlled most of the third set – leading 20-16 at one point – but SIUE closed out the match on a 9-1 run. It was the Cougars who led 5-2 to begin the stanza but Vaughn ignited UTM’s comeback. The freshman from St. Henry, Ohio went off for three kills and a block assist in the span of five points to help the Skyhawks get back in it. Yet another Vaughn kill capped off a 7-2 run and resulted in UTM’s 20-16 advantage but the aforementioned Cougar run put an end to the Skyhawk comeback bid. The freshman tandem of Vaughn (five kills, .444 hitting percentage) and Mott (12 digs) guided UTM.
A season-long four-match road trip continues next week for the Skyhawks, as they will head to Jacksonville State for a 6:30 p.m. match on Sunday, March 21 and a 4 p.m. match on Monday, March 22.
