MARTIN, Tenn. – Despite a sizable 57-42 advantage in the kill column this evening, the University of Tennessee at Martin fell in four sets to Little Rock (23-25, 28-26, 17-25, 22-25) in Ohio Valley Conference volleyball action inside Skyhawk Fieldhouse.
Tonight’s match featured 34 tie scores and 15 lead changes but UT Martin could not force a winner-take-all fifth stanza in its last home match of the 2023 campaign.
Kayla Bryant accumulated a match-high 16 kills and 10 digs for the sixth double-double of her sophomore season. Olivia Saunders provided 14 kills, a match-high four blocks and a pair of service aces while Jenna Vallée (nine kills) almost made it three Skyhawks in double-digit kills. Haeleigh Paulino (20 assists, three kills, eight digs) and Addy Vaughn (16 assists, five kills, two blocks) split duties at setter for UT Martin (8-18, 6-10 OVC).
Kayla Carrell (match-best 18 digs) and Dylan Mott (14 digs) were the Skyhawks’ defensive stars of the night but for the second straight match, UT Martin was hampered by errors as the Skyhawks committed 60 total miscues (33 attacking, 15 service, eight serve receive, three setting and one blocking).
Five UT Martin players were recognized before the match for their career accolades as Carrell, Zoe Merriweather, Paulino, Ryan Rednour and Saunders each took part in a Senior Night ceremony. Facing a 14-9 deficit in the first set, the Skyhawks stormed back to take a 23-22 lead that was set up by a pair of Rednour service aces. However, the Trojans (9-18, 6-10 OVC) scored three unanswered from that point forward to take the early 1-0 advantage despite five kills in the opening stanza out of Bryant.
It went past the standard 25-point barrier but UT Martin evened the match at 1-all with a victory in the second set, thanks in large part to Saunders’ five kills in nine swings. The scoring margin did not exceed two points on either side until a Saunders kill opened up a 15-12 Skyhawk advantage. Little Rock eventually came back to claim set point at 26-25 but UT Martin converted its third shot at set point soon thereafter.
The Trojans began the third set on a 7-0 run and although the Skyhawks kept gradually chipping away – eventually trimming its deficit to 16-13 following a Vaughn and Saunders block assist – the slow start proved to be costly as Little Rock took a 2-1 lead in the match.
The fourth set had 15 tie scores and five lead changes in a back-and-forth affair. Much like the second stanza, neither side could open up a lead larger than two points until the Trojans claimed a 17-14 lead. A pair of Vallée kills nudged UT Martin ahead by a 19-18 margin but Little Rock scored four of the final five points of the match. Carrell came away with eight scoops in the fourth set alone.
The Skyhawks’ OVC Championship tournament hopes are still very much alive as the league’s regular season concludes next week. UT Martin will visit Southern Indiana on Wednesday (Nov. 15) and Thursday (Nov. 16) in the program’s first-ever visit to Screaming Eagles Arena.
