The UTM’s deep run in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Beach Volleyball Championship came to an end today as the Skyhawks left it all on the sand pit but fell 3-0 to Austin Peay in the tournament finals.
Earlier in the day, UTM swept Jacksonville State for an opportunity to claim the first-ever OVC beach volleyball championship. It was the third win in three days for the Skyhawks, who awaited a rematch against a Governors squad who had gone undefeated in the league tournament. However, the fourth-seeded Austin Peay squad continued its momentum and finished the event with a 4-0 record after its win in the finals.
Following the conclusion of the championship match, UTM accounted for two of the five pairs who were place on the OVC All-Tournament Team as Lucy Kaufman/Hannah Phillips and Haeleigh Paulino/Logan Wallick both nabbed that honor.
During this morning’s match against Jacksonville State, the Skyhawks zoomed into the finals after a commanding 3-0 victory. Baillie Kearns/Kambree Lucas set the tone with a 21-16, 21-17 victory out of the No. 5 slot over Bethany Randall/Grace Jarnagin before a 21-18, 21-16 triumph at No. 4 by Addison Conley/Jessica Reynolds over Peyton Pauze/Macie Garrison. The match was played to decision, which meant that UTM’s 21-13, 21-10 triumph by Kayla Carrell/Karen Scanlon at No. 2 catapulted the Skyhawks into the finals. In addition, UTM was ahead at No. 1 (Kaufman/Phillips up 21-15, 12-12) and at No. 3 (Paulino/Wallick up 21-18, 18-21) before the match was called.
Against Austin Peay, Kaufman and Phillips were near a win at No. 1 (21-18, 15-13) but the match went unfinished as the Governors reached the necessary three points. Kearns/Lucas battled throughout at No. 5 but fell 21-19, 18-21, 15-9 at No. 5. The magical season of Paulino/Wallick came to a close with a 21-19, 22-20 setback at No. 3, marking the first loss of the season for the All-OVC pair. Austin Peay also claimed a 21-18, 21-13 win at No. 4 against Conley/Reynolds while Carrell/Scanlon still had time to mount a comeback (trailing 21-14, 7-2) at No. 2 before the match concluded.
The Skyhawks posted a 10-7 overall record during the historical 2021 campaign, which was three victories more than the previous three years combined for the program. UTM swept both OVC Pair of the Week mentions during the two-week regular season as eight different Skyhawks combined to register 10 overall OVC postseason accolades.
