MARTIN, Tenn. – For the third straight season, the Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship trophy will reside at the University of Tennessee at Martin as the Skyhawks added two more wins on the final day of the regular season.
UT Martin came through with a 4-1 victory over Tennessee Tech early this afternoon before officially clinching its hardware with a 5-0 sweep against Lindenwood tonight. With those victories, the Skyhawks improved to 9-1 in the league standings and will enter next week’s OVC Championship tournament as the No. 1 seed.
It was an emotional day from the start as Kayla Carrell, Haeleigh Paulino and Addy Vaughn each played their final career matches inside the Skyhawk Beach Volleyball Complex. Those seniors have now helped UT Martin to five OVC regular season championships (three regular season, two tournament) in the last three campaigns while each ranking in the top-four in the history of the program in individual victories.
The same five pairings represented the Skyhawks in both matches today as Sydney Eckhardt/Dylan Mott (No. 2), Ryan Rednour/Vaughn (No. 3), Paulino/Kristin Phillips (No. 4) and Carrell/Reagan McGee (No. 5) each went 2-0. UT Martin’s No. 1 pair of Olivia O’Keefe and Jenna Vallée also added a victory in the final outing of the day.
Paulino/Phillips got things started against the Golden Eagles with a 21-13, 21-19 victory before Carrell/McGee scrapped their way to a 21-14, 13-21, 15-13 triumph. Rednour/Vaughn were responsible for the clinching point with a 21-16, 21-10 win before Eckhardt/Mott collected a 21-9, 21-8 victory. O’Keefe/Vallée were in a heated battle but narrowly fell 22-20, 21-19.
Perfection was achieved against the Lions as Carrell/McGee dialed up a 21-16, 21-10 win for their 17th victory of the season and 82nd of Carrell’s remarkable career. Paulino/Phillips were next with a 21-14, 21-14 triumph – their ninth as a duo and 81st of Paulino’s fantastic tenure. Eckhardt/Mott notched their team-best 18th victory shortly thereafter, winning by a 21-10, 21-12 score. Following Rednour/Vaughn’s 14th triumph of the spring (21-15, 21-16), O’Keefe/Vallée fought their way back for an impressive 18-21, 21-18, 15-10 victory – their 11th of the season.
The Skyhawks receive a first-round bye in the OVC Championship tournament, which will be held on Thursday, April 25 through Saturday, April 27 on the campus of Morehead State University. UT Martin’s first match in the event will take place at 1 p.m. CT on Thursday as the Skyhawks will take on the winner of the No. 4 seed Morehead State/No. 5 seed Tennessee Tech matchup.
