MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball squad scrapped and clawed throughout today’s matchup against Ohio Valley Conference-leading Southeast Missouri but the Skyhawks ultimately fell in a tough four-set decision (16-25, 25-23, 22-25, 24-26).
It was an emotional environment from the get-go as Hannah Haislip, Josie Hess, Zara McCauley, Dylan Mott, Jenna Vallée and Addy Vaughn were each recognized as part of a Senior Day ceremony. All six players received the starting lineup nod and set the tone for a competitive match which featured 26 tie scores and 11 lead changes.
Freshman Kylie Surratt guided UT Martin (5-18, 3-11 OVC) with 16 kills on the day while rookie teammate Maddy Gladson added 10 kills. Katie Cruise flirted with a triple-double (seven kills on a .636 hitting percentage, 29 assists, 14 digs) while Kayla Bryant also had a productive all-around day with eight kills, 14 digs and a career-best six assists.
Mott barely missed a double-double with a team-best 27 digs to go along with nine assists while Kristin Phillips hit .625 (five kills with no errors in just eight swings) with a team-high four blocks.
McCauley accounted for the first two Skyhawk points of the day, coming away with a kill and service ace to help UT Martin jump out to a 4-2 advantage. The Redhawks (15-11, 12-2 OVC) soon scored eight unanswered points as part of a 12-1 run to take a 19-10 lead. Back-to-back Skyhawk blocks followed but Southeast Missouri was able to close out the first set on top. Mott (eight digs) and Phillips (three blocks) led UT Martin in the first set.
The Skyhawk offense came out swinging in the second stanza, hitting .366 with 20 kills. The score was knotted at 9-all in the second set before UT Martin went on a 7-1 run that featured three kills out of Gladson. The Redhawks closed to within a single point at 24-23 but Gladson responded right back with her fifth kill of the set to even the match at 1-all. Bryant equaled Gladson with five kills in the set while Cruise (12 assists) and Mott (seven digs) also stood out.
Two Phillips kills sandwiched around a Mott service ace capped off an early 5-0 run in the third set and gave the Skyhawks a 6-4 edge. Surratt followed with three kills in a five-point span to help UT Martin take a 14-11 lead. Southeast Missouri answered with a 7-0 run but the Skyhawks got right back within a single point (18-17) following three straight Redhawk attack errors. Ultimately, Southeast Missouri was able to hang on for the third-set win despite four kills out of Surratt.
A wild fourth set was in store as the two sides swapped leads five times with 10 ties. Surratt came out smoking as her fifth rally killer of the stanza gave UT Martin a 12-11 edge. Two more kills from Surratt helped the Skyhawks open up a 22-18 lead but the Redhawks battled back for six unanswered points. UT Martin fought off match point twice with a Gladson kill and Surratt service ace but Southeast Missouri ended the contest with back-to-back points for the 26-24 win. Surratt had seven kills while Mott (seven digs) and Cruise (three kills, eight assists, six digs) also had great efforts in the final set.
The Skyhawks’ final two road matches of the regular season take place this week with a rare Thursday/Friday series against SIUE. First serve on Nov. 14 is set for 6 p.m. while the Nov. 15 matchup will begin at 5 p.m.
