OZARK, Mo. – The University of Tennessee at Martin beach volleyball squad was embroiled in two close matches today but ultimately fell by identical 3-2 margins to Louisiana-Monroe and Missouri State.
The Skyhawks were perfect out of the No. 5 pairing today as Kayla Carrell and Haeleigh Paulino joined forces in that spot. The veteran duo collected a 21-16, 14-21, 15-11 victory in the first match of the day against Louisiana-Monroe before posting a 16-21, 21-18, 15-13 triumph over their counterparts from Missouri State.
UT Martin’s No. 4 pair of Ryan Rednour/Addy Vaughn managed a 21-15, 21-16 win in the Louisiana-Monroe matchup while the Skyhawks’ No. 2 tandem of Sydney Eckhardt/Dylan Mott scored a 21-12, 21-13 victory in the nightcap against Missouri State.
However, UT Martin could not come up with the clinching victory in either end of its Opening Day doubleheader.
The Louisiana-Monroe match this morning featured some tough luck for the Skyhawks as two of their losses came in tiebreaking third sets. UT Martin’s No. 1 pair of Olivia O’Keefe/Jenna Vallée fell 19-21, 21-19, 15-11 while the Skyhawks’ No. 3 duo of Reagan McGee/Dylan Sulcer came up just short (21-11, 19-21, 15-8) in their program debuts. Eckhardt/Mott also put up a battle out of the No. 2 slot but fell 21-18, 21-18.
The backend of the doubleheader additionally featured some tight scores that ultimately didn’t go UT Martin’s way. O’Keefe/Vallée fell 21-17, 22-20 at No. 1 while McGee/Sulcer (21-13, 21-19 at No. 3) and Rednour/Vaughn (21-13, 21-14 at No. 4) dropped their decisions.
The Skyhawks will look to rebound tomorrow with two more matches in this tournament hosted by Missouri State. UT Martin is matched up against Hendrix College at 8 a.m. before taking on Southwest Baptist at 1 p.m.
