MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball squad extended its winning streak to three this evening, earning a 3-2 triumph over SIUE (15-25, 25-20, 26-24, 21-25, 15-10) in an Ohio Valley Conference thriller at Skyhawk Fieldhouse.
UT Martin hit .250 over the final three sets and held the visiting Cougars to a paltry .097 attack percentage in the decisive fifth set, generating its sixth consecutive win over SIUE in the process.
Olivia Saunders was responsible for a match-high 15 kills on a .344 hitting percentage for the Skyhawks, who improved to 7-14 overall with a 5-6 OVC record. The middle blocker out of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada also tied a team-high with four blocks.
Accumulating the first double-double of her career was Dylan Mott as the junior from Hendersonville, Tenn. recorded a career-high 12 kills on a .444 hitting percentage (no errors in 27 swings) and 16 digs. UT Martin also received a big lift out of Jenna Vallée, who tallied each of her 12 kills in the final four sets while hitting a sizzling .500 (just two errors in 20 attempts).
Haeleigh Paulino (match-best 39 assists) and Kayla Bryant (match-high two service aces) also helped pace the Skyhawk offense.
Defensively, Kayla Carrell came away with a match-high 23 digs for UT Martin. Kristin Phillips and Halle Everett equaled Saunders for the team lead with season-best tallies of four blocks apiece.
The match produced 31 tie scores and a dozen lead changes. The Cougars (10-10, 4-5 OVC) controlled the first stanza but the Skyhawks clawed back to take the next two sets. UT Martin outscored SIUE by an 8-1 margin to close out the second set as Saunders had six kills (on a .600 attack percentage) and three blocks in that stanza alone. Back-to-back late kills from Everett ignited the Skyhawks late in the third set as UT Martin hit .267 with 19 kills in that frame. Mott landed four kills on just six attempts) in the fourth stanza but it wasn’t enough as the Cougars were able to extend the match.
SIUE scored the first three points of the final set but it was all Skyhawks from there. Vallée played a pivotal role for UT Martin as the Pornichet, France native accounted for five of the Skyhawks’ eight kills in the fifth stanza. UT Martin dialed up the first five points in a 13-4 run down the stretch before a Phillips kill on match point officially sealed the triumph.
The Skyhawks will go for a season sweep of the Cougars tomorrow when these two teams meet at 11 a.m.
