The UTM volleyball team began its season-long four-match road swing today, dropping a 3-0 decision at SIUE (18-25, 19-25, 22-25).
The Skyhawks could not contain a Cougar offense that hit .284 for the match. On the flipside, UTM found success offensively in the third set but it was too late as time ran out on the Skyhawks’ comeback attempt.
Karen Scanlon put away a team-high nine kills and was followed closely by Logan Wallick, who had eight kills for UTM (5-6). Jessica Reynolds hit a team-best .235 and had six kills while Kenzie Hinshaw assisted on 21 of the Skyhawks’ 32 kills.
Defensively, Dylan Mott piled up a team-high 13 digs, splitting time with Baillie Kearns (eight digs) at the libero position.
SIUE (7-4) began the match with four consecutive points before Scanlon and Wallick each tallied kills. Back-to-back errors by the Cougars trimmed UTM’s deficit to 10-5 but SIUE answered with a 7-1 run. Addy Vaughn responded by spiking a pair of kills as the Skyhawks slowly chipped away at their deficit. UTM scored nine out of 12 points during one stretch to get back within five (21-16) but the Cougars recorded four of the final six points. Wallick hit .500 and was responsible for three of the Skyhawks’ eight kills in the opening set.
Scanlon got things started for UTM in the second stanza as two of the team’s first three points came off kills from the junior out of Scottsdale, Arizona. The Skyhawks held a brief lead soon thereafter but managed to go ahead by a 13-9 margin as an Olivia Lucia kill completed a 5-0 surge. However, SIUE answered with a 14-3 run to put UTM in a 23-16 hole. Vaughn had a kill and a block assist (alongside Zoe Merriweather) on back-to-back points to help the Skyhawks pull within four at 23-19 but that was as close as UTM would get for the remainder of the set. Scanlon and Mott paced the Skyhawks with team-highs of three kills and four digs, respectively.
UTM held a late lead in the third set and appeared ready to extend the match but the Cougars stunned the Skyhawks with a 6-1 run to wrap up the match. Reynolds was responsible for three kills in the span of four points early, adding her fourth kill of the set midway through to help UTM stay within striking distance. The Skyhawks trailed 18-14 but unreeled a 7-1 run, highlighted by three Wallick kills and two rally killers out of Scanlon. After SIUE scored back-to-back points, Scanlon was there for yet another kill to tilt the score back in favor of UTM at 21-22. Unfortunately, the Cougars recovered by scoring the final four points of the set. The trio of Wallick (five kills), Hinshaw (12 assists) and Mott (nine digs) carried UT Martin in the final stanza.
These two teams meet once again tomorrow on ESPN+ as first serve from the Vadalabene Center is set for 2 p.m.
