OZARK, Mo. – A pair of commanding victories were in the cards for the University of Tennessee at Martin beach volleyball squad today as the Skyhawks closed out the Missouri State tournament with a 4-1 win over Hendrix before a 5-0 triumph against Southwest Baptist.
Three UT Martin pairings went a perfect 2-0 on the day as Olivia O’Keefe/Jenna Vallée (No. 1), Sydney Eckhardt/Dylan Mott (No. 2) and Katie Cruise/Haeleigh Paulino (No. 5) each accomplished that feat. The Skyhawks’ No. 4 duo of Kayla Carrell/Kristin Phillips also added a victory in the afternoon matchup against Southwest Baptist while UT Martin also registered wins at No. 3 from two different pairs (Ryan Rednour/Addy Vaughn against Hendrix, Reagan McGee/Dylan Sulcer against Southwest Baptist).
The day started with the first win of the season against Hendrix. O’Keefe/Vallée earned a 21-18, 21-17 triumph and was followed by victories from Eckhardt/Mott (21-7, 21-10), Rednour/Vaughn (19-21, 21-14, 15-11) and Cruise/Paulino (21-9, 21-16 in their season debut together). Carrell and Phillips additionally made their season debut as a pairing but narrowly fell in a third-set tiebreaker – 20-22, 21-14, 12-15.
All five Skyhawk pairings got in the win column in the afternoon matchup against Southwest Baptist, each winning in straight sets. O’Keefe/Vallée led the charge with a 21-8, 21-16 victory while Eckhardt/Mott dialed up their team-best third win courtesy of a 21-10, 21-8 triumph. McGee/Sulcer rolled to a 21-12, 21-16 victory while Carrell/Phillips (21-9, 21-11) and Cruise/Paulino (21-7, 21-3) rounded out the successful day.
UT Martin is back at it next weekend as it heads to the UAB Beach Classic on Saturday, March 2 through Sunday, March 3. The Skyhawks will take on Florida Atlantic and Eastern Kentucky on Day 1 of the tournament before squaring off against UTEP and UAB on the final day.
