By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
Things started off well for the University of Tennessee at Martin this afternoon but the visiting Eastern Illinois Panthers stormed back to hand the Skyhawks a 3-1 setback (25-23, 12-25, 21-25, 17-25) in an Ohio Valley Conference volleyball showdown.
UT Martin hit .289 and sided out at 69 percent (16-for-23) in the first set to gain early momentum. After Eastern Illinois evened the match at 1-all, the Skyhawks battled back from a nine-point deficit in Set 3 to pull within two late but the Panthers held on to go on top by a 2-1 margin. The fourth set was a tight affair throughout but Eastern Illinois (13-1, 3-0 OVC) pulled away late courtesy of a match-ending 13-6 run.
Olivia Saunders led UT Martin in kills for the fourth time this season and third time in the last four matches. The Mississauga, Ontario, Canada native landed 11 kills with only two errors in 25 attempts, wrapping up her day with a team-best .360 hitting percentage. She also rejected a team-best three blocks at the net.
Jenna Vallée added seven kills against just one error today to guide a balanced Skyhawk offense that featured five players with at least five kills – a list that included Kayla Bryant, Halle Everett (four kills in the third set alone) and Kristin Phillips (four kills in Set 4). Addy Vaughn managed her second double-double (15 assists, 10 digs) of the fall while Haeleigh Paulino dished out a team-high 18 assists to go along with eight digs.
On the defensive end, Kayla Carrell made another start at libero and responded with a team-best 14 digs. Josie Hess tallied seven digs in only two sets while the duo of Vaughn and Mia Saenz also had multi-block performances for UT Martin (2-10, 0-2 OVC).
The Skyhawks go back on the road next week as they will visit St. Charles, Mo. for a two-match series at Lindenwood on Thursday, Sept. 28 (6 p.m.) and Friday, Sept. 29 (5 p.m.).
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information
