MACOMB, Ill. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team received terrific performances out of freshman outside hitter Kylie Surratt and senior libero Dylan Mott today but the Skyhawks fell in three sets (24-26, 19-25, 16-25) at Western Illinois.
Surratt led UT Martin with 13 kills, topping the team in that category for the fourth straight match and 12th time overall in 2024. On the defensive side, Mott was responsible for almost half of the Skyhawk digs today with 24 scoops.
Jenna Vallée had seven kills and a team-best three blocks while Katie Cruise recorded a team-high 17 assists for UT Martin (4-15, 2-8 Ohio Valley Conference).
The Skyhawks led by a 5-1 margin before the Fighting Leathernecks (14-8, 8-3 OVC) took their first lead of the match at 9-8. UT Martin fought back to lead 15-11 following a Kayla Bryant kill but Western Illinois responded with a 9-2 run. The Skyhawks staved off set point with a trio of kills and a service ace to even the score at 24-all but the Fighting Leathernecks pieced together back-to-back points to take the first stanza. Surratt had six kills on a .545 hitting percentage in the opening set.
UT Martin once again raced out to a big lead in the second set, taking a 6-2 advantage thanks to three Surratt kills in that span. Western Illinois used a 9-3 run to take the lead and never looked back. A block assist out of Addy Vaughn and Vallée trimmed the Skyhawk deficit to three points late but the Fighting Leathernecks held on to take a 2-0 lead in the match. Mott excelled in the middle set with a phenomenal 12 scoops in the second stanza alone.
Western Illinois accounted for the first four points of the final set before Vallée heated up with a pair of kills. The Fighting Leathernecks scored six of seven points during one stretch and eventually claimed an 18-10 advantage. UT Martin received four kills from four different Skyhawks (Kristin Phillips, Surratt, Dylan Sulcer, Vaughn) late in the set but the deficit was too much to overcome. Vallée’s three kills ranked as a team-high for UT Martin in the final set.
The Skyhawks go back on the road next weekend, heading to in-state rival Tennessee State for a two-match series on Nov. 1-2.
