FRIDAY’S SCORES
Dayton 3,
Austin Peay 0 (25-14, 25-7, 25-21)
Northern Kentucky 3,
@Morehead State 1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-23)
High Point 3,
Jacksonville State 2 (25-22, 25-13, 23-25, 25-17, 15-5)
UTEP 3,
Belmont 0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-21)
Murray State 3, The Citadel 0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-16)
Iowa 3,
Eastern Illinois 1 (32-30, 25-13, 24-26, 25-20)
Georgia Southern 3,
Jacksonville State 0 (25-13, 25-15, 26-24)
Buffalo 3,
Eastern Kentucky 0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-21)
Western Michigan 3,
Southeast Missouri 0 (25-15, 28-26, 25-23)
Southeast Missouri 3, East Carolina 0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-13)
@Morehead State 3, Evansville 1 (25-13, 23-25, 25-22, 25-19)
Troy 3,
@UT Martin 2 (25-16, 20-25, 25-17, 15-25, 15-13)
Marquette 3,
Tennessee Tech 0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-13)
@Xavier 3,
Tennessee Tech 0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-19)
Austin Peay 3, UALR 2 (28-30, 25-20, 30-28, 21-25, 15-13)
Portland 3
, Tennessee State 2 (25-22, 20-25, 25-17, 23-25, 15-11)
HIGH POINT 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 2; GEORGIA SOUTHERN 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 0
AUBURN, Ala. - The Jacksonville State volleyball team fell short in the opening day of the Auburn Invitational, falling to High Point 3-2 (25-22, 25-13, 23-25, 25-27, 15-5) and Georgia Southern 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 26-24).
The Gamecocks (4-2) dropped the first two sets to the Panthers (4-1) before rallying to win the next two sets. Senior Jen Meyer and Sophomore Nicole Merget helped lead the comeback. Meyer recorded three kills in the third set and four kills in the fourth set, while Merget recorded four kills apiece in both the third and fourth sets.
In the fifth set, the Gamecocks recorded eight errors as the Panthers pulled away for the decisive 3-2 victory. For the match, Meyer finished with 15 kills while Merget added 10 kills.
Junior setter Abbey Heredia added 34 assists. HPU had four attackers with double-digit kills.
After dropping the first two sets to GSU (3-2), the Gamecocks look poised to make a comeback in the third set. Trailing 20-15, Senior Hivya Leite recorded four kills and Meyer added three kills to help the Gamecocks tie the set at 24-24. The Gamecocks rally would fall short as the Eagles pulled out the 26-24 victory.
Leite finished the match with 10 kills while Meyer added seven kills. Senior Kelsey Anderson added 10 digs.
The Gamecocks will look to bounce back tomorrow when they take on the host school Auburn University at 1:30 p.m.
UTEP 3, BELMONT 0
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - - Belmont volleyball (1-4) dropped their second match of the UTSA Invitational to UTEP (1-3) this afternoon, 25-20, 25-20, 25-21.
UTEP jumped out to an early lead in the opening set, but a kill from junior Allison McCoy (Huntington Beach, Calif.) brought the Bruins within one. The Miners put together some small runs to extend their lead.
Belmont battled back with a 4-0 run to put the score at 21-19, but UTEP closed out the first set, 25-20.
McCoy led the Bruins in the first set with five kills, while redshirt freshman Maddison Croft (Edwardsville, Ill.) added four.
The second set started with the Bruins taking a 2-0 lead over the Miners with sophomore Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) beginning the set with a kill. The set remained close throughout with the two teams exchanging points, but again UTEP was able to hold off the Bruins and take 2-0 lead at the break, winning the second set 25-20.
UTEP took the court after the break to score three unanswered points, before an attack error gave Belmont them their first point of the set.
Belmont remained close with the Miners and went on a 4-0 run in the middle of the set, but UTEP was able to answer back and extend their lead. The Bruins were able to fight back to come stay within two, 23-21 with kills from McCoy and junior setter Hannah Miranda (Covington, La.) but it wasn't enough as UTEP recorded back-to-back kills to close out the set, 25-21.
Once again McCoy and Croft paced the Bruins each recording five kills in the third set.
McCoy tallied a total of 14 kills, which is a season-high while Croft recorded eight, also a season-high.
Junior libero Jamie Lundstrom (La Grange, Ill.) paced the defense with 19 digs. Miranda added 12 and Gable added 11 digs.
Miranda also recorded a season-high 31 assists.
Belmont will be back in action tomorrow as they face UTSA again at noon.
IOWA 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
ROCHESTER, Mich. - Eastern Illinois volleyball opened Oakland Invitational action on Friday afternoon, losing a tough four set match to Iowa (32-30, 25-13, 24-26, 25-20) to move to an even 2-2 on the early season.
Junior outside hitter Reynae Hutchinson led the Panther attack with 13 kills, while freshman setter/right side Abby Saalfrank notched a triple-double behind 12 kills, 14 assists and 14 digs.
Saalfrank's fine play marks the first time that a Panther volleyball player has notched that particular triple-duo honor since Meleah Cutler (1996-99) finished with 15 kills, 11 assists and 22 digs against SEMO back on Oct. 22, 1998.
Fellow newcomer Marah Bradbury dished out an additional 25 assists, plus led all players with three aces and hit .667 with two kills and zero miscues.
Defensively, freshman libero Stephanie Wallace upped 18 Iowa attacks, while sophomore Kelsey Brooke set a new personal best mark with 11 digs of her own.
Junior Stephanie Arnold led the EIU net defense with three assisted blocks.
Iowa (4-1) was led by four players hitting in double-digits kills, including 12 from both Erin Radke and Chante' Thompson, while Rachael Bedell and Alex Lovell chipped in 11 apiece. Thompson ended up hitting .529 for the match as both Radke and Lovell tallied an attack clip over .400.
For the match, Iowa led EIU in total kills (58 to 53), assists (56 to 51), aces (eight to six), blocks (eight to five), and points (74.0 to 64.0). The Panthers did out-pace the Hawkeyes in digs off a slight 66-to-65 mark.
The match started close with the first set going the extra mile as the Panthers fell by a close 32-30 score, despite having multiple set-point opportunities. The set featured an amazing 18 ties and 11 lead changes.
EIU then got off to a slow start in the second frame, and hit -.040 in the process as Iowa jumped ahead Iowa to earn the quick 25-13 win.
Eastern countered with some clutch play in the third set, which included some key kills by freshman Kayla Nesbitt, who came off the bench to see her first collegiate play as a Panther. The Panthers would pull to within 2-1 of Iowa with the close 26-24 victory, hitting a match-high .233.
Another back-and-forth affair occured in the final set, until the Hawkeyes eventually pulled away for the 25-20 win thanks to a .385-to-.179 attack advantage.
With the win, Iowa extends their all-time series advantage over the Panthers to 3-1, though it was the first meeting between the two squads in nearly 30 years.
Eastern will finish up action at the two-day Oakland Invite on Saturday afternoon, as the Panthers are set to face the host Grizzlies and battle Toledo at 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., respectively.
MURRAY STATE 3, THE CITADEL 0
RADFORD, Va. - The Murray State volleyball team picked up its first win of the season on Friday by downing The Citadel, 3-0, in the opening game of the LaQuinta Inn & Suites Highlander Invitational in Radford, Va.
The Citadel (0-4) jumped out to an early lead in the opening frame by scoring the first three points and went on to extend its lead to 6-2. However, the Racers (1-3) then went on a 11-3 run to take a 14-9 lead that they never relinquished. Despite the best efforts of the Bulldogs to rally, Murray State stood tough and took the first set, 25-19. Freshman Kristen Besselsen (St. Louis, Mo.) led MSU’s offense in the set with six kills, four of which came during the team’s 11-point run.
In the second set, the Racers picked right up where they left off in the first, with their respective feet on the offensive gas. Murray State never trailed or tied in the set and led by as many as seven, eventually taking the set by an identical 25-19 score. Besselsen was once again the offensive pacesetter, leading five Racers that recorded kill in the set with seven. Senior Wendi Zickfield (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) followed closely behind with six kills, while freshman Taylor Olden (Lincoln, Ill.) chipped in with four.
In the third set, The Citadel fought tooth and nail with MSU to begin the final set, never taking the lead but keeping pace and even pulling within one at 12-11. However, from that point on the Racers once again put the hammer down and ended the game on a 13-4 run to win the set 25-16.
Besselsen led the Racers in the match with 16 kills and an outstanding .375 attack percentage. Zickfield also had a big day for MSU with 13 kills and a .241 attack percentage. Senior Lia Havili (Haltom City, Texas) led all players with 22 assists, while freshman Sam Bedard (Breese, Ill.) had 12.
Defensively, Olden led Murray State with four blocks, while junior Michelle Lazorchak (Marion, Ill.) and freshman Alyssa Lelm (Mackinaw, Ill.) had three each. Junior Katlyn Hudson (Columbus, Ind.) also put up impressive numbers for the Racers with a team-high 13 digs.
As a team, the Racers also put up impressive numbers and bested the Bulldogs in every major statistical category. MSU finished the match with 47 kills and a season-high .277 attack percentage to raise its season percentage from .118 to .156. Murray State also out-dug The Citadel, 54-40, and notched seven aces, compared to none by the Bulldogs.
On Saturday, the Racers will return to Radford’s Dedmon Center to finish play in the invitational with a doubleheader. At 2 p.m., Murray State will take on St. Francis (Pa.), followed by a match with host Radford in the tournament finale at 6 p.m.
BUFFALO 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -Eastern Kentucky opened the Shamrock Invitational with a 3-0 loss to Buffalo on Friday. The Bulls won by scores of 25-17, 25-22 and 25-21.
After Buffalo won the first set 25-17, the Colonels took a 21-20 lead late in the second on a kill by Alexis Plagens. However, the Bulls won five of the next six points to take the set, 25-22, and a 2-0 lead.
Buffalo scored five of the first six points of the third set but couldn’t pull away. Eastern tied the match at 13-13 and 14-14, and trailed by only three, 22-19, late in the set.
Kelsey Kuehner and Ashley Edmond led the Colonels (2-2) with 10 kills each. Kuehner made just three errors for a .304 attack percentage and had two blocks. Edmond added three blocks and 13 digs.
Megan Lipski and Liz Scott finished with 11 kills each for Buffalo (3-1).
EKU will play Alabama-Birmingham at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY 3, MOREHEAD STATE 1; MOREHEAD STATE 3, EVANSVILLE 1
MOREHEAD, Ky. – Morehead State split a pair of matches to open up its own Comfort Inn and Suites Invitational. The Eagles fell to Northern Kentucky (25-18, 23-25, 23-25, 23-25) and defeated Evansville (25-13, 23-25, 25-22, 25-19).
Morehead State senior middle blocker Annie Gruenschlaeger had 14 kills and 10 block in the match with NKU.
NKU improved to 5-0, while the Eagles fell to 0-5. Gruenschlaeger's block total tied her career high, and she hit .455. The match featured 20 ties and six lead changes.
Kelly Morrissey led the Norse with 12 kills and 13 digs, while Shelby Buschur totaled five blocks.
Senior outside hitter Ellie Roberson led the Eagles with 15 kills, while freshman middle blocker Hannah Sigala hit a team and career-best .571 with nine kills. Junior libero Leslie Schellhaas led all players with 23 digs.
The Eagles hit .455 in the opening set and only trailed once in pulling away for a 25-18 win. Both teams hit better than .300 in the second set, but the Norse scored three of the final four points to claim the two-point win. The Eagles led 22-20 in the third frame, but three consecutive errors and two NKU kills helped the Norse rally for the 25-23 victory.
MSU fell behind 17-12 in the fourth set but fought back to tie it at 23. An NKU kill and a block by the Norse ended the match.
The Eagles had 56 kills and hit. 234, while NKU totaled 48 kills and hit .180. MSU won the back row defensive battle, 60-58, on digs.
Morehead State seniors Ellie Roberson and Annie Gruenschlaeger combined for 36 kills and both hit better than .500 as the Eagle volleyball team picked up its first win of the 2012 season, 3-1 (25-13, 23-25, 25-22, 25-19) over Evansville.
MSU improved to 1-5, while the Purple Aces fell to 2-3. The match concluded the first day of the Comfort Inn and Suites Invitational.
Roberson, a right side hitter, nailed a team-high 19 kills and hit .500, while Gruenschlaeger, a middle blocker, slammed down 17 winners and recorded a .536 offensive efficiency. She also added seven blocks. Junior outside hitter Aryn Bohannon also tallied 15 spikes and hit .312 as the Eagles hit .a season-best .291 as a team.
The Eagles pounded 69 kills on 148 attempts, while the Aces landed 36 kills but committed 20 errors. Defensively, MSU junior libero Leslie Schellhaas turned in a 23-dig total for the second straight outing.
Ashley Ring was the lone Purple Ace player in double figure kills with 12. Katie Klages recorded 15 digs.
The Eagles raced out to a 5-1 lead in the opening set and never looked back in winning by 12. MSU eventually built as much as a 23-10 lead. Set two featured 12 ties before the Purple Aces scored four of the final six points.
The Eagles used a 6-1 advantage out of the gate in set three and never trailed. MSU built a 19-12 lead in the final set before Evansville rallied to cut it to 22-18. A pair of kills by sophomore Laura McDermott and a winner from Roberson sealed the victory.
MSU senior setter Caitlin Clark nearly posted a double-double with a match-best 36 assists and eight digs. The Eagles out-dug the Aces 59-42.
Morehead State is set to finish the tournament with a 2 p.m. ET matchup Saturday against Alabama A&M.
MARQUETTE 3, TENNESSEE TECH 0; XAVIER 3, TENNESSEE TECH 0
CINCINNATI, Ohio - In the first day of competition at the Xavier Invitational, Tennessee Tech faced two top-tier opponents and fell twice. The Golden Eagles knew they would be facing top competition coming into this weekend's tournament, but this may have been a little more than just a "tough opponent".
Tech opened the afternoon against Xavier and despite being defeated in three sets, the Golden Eagle defense was not willing to fall without a fight.
Set scores were 14-25, 15-25, and 19-25.
Tech outdug the Musketeers, 43-40. Libero Courtney Smith sprawled for 14 digs, holding Xavier's offense at an average .287. Tech also put up five blocks at the net.
Kelsey Gray led the Golden Eagle offense with nine kills and an outstanding .667 attack percentage. Gray anchored the net, assisting in two blocks and one solo block.
Junior outside Natalie Penrod faced a triple-blocking effort, but was able to sneak five kills by. Madison Keyes also chipped in with five kills on 12 swings.
Marquette hit an imposing .319 for the match burying 44 kills on 98 swings, and posted a 3-0 win. Set scores were 14-25, 19-25, and 13-25.
Tech hit .066 for the match, logging just 25 kills. The Golden Eagles were paced by seniors Katrina Dvorken and Gray with eight kills each, while four other players had two kills. Ellen Conti was one of those players, and also helped Tech at the net with one solo block.
The Golden Eagles were led defensively by Smith with 11 digs, while freshman Audrey Lewis followed with seven. Setters Ashleigh Hancock and Madi Compery each chipped in three and four digs respectively. Hancock dished out 14 assists, Comperry seven.
Marquette's Danielle Carlson led all attackers with 13 kills on 19 swings, hitting .632. Marquette outblocked Tech 7.0 to 3.0 with two leading players each contributing five block assists.
The Golden Eagles return to the court Saturday at 1 pm CT.
WESTERN MICHIGAN 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0; SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, EAST CAROLINA
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Southaeast Missouri volleyball team split a pair of matches Friday afternoon at the Panther Invitational in Milwaukee, Wisc.
The Redhawks dropped their first match against preseason Mid-America Conference favorite Western Michigan 3-0 (25-15, 28-26, 25-23). Southeast regrouped and defeated East Carolina 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-13) later in the afternoon.
Brittney Kalinoski led the Redhawks on the day with 24 kills as she recorded 14 against ECU and 10 against Western Michigan. She hit a season-high .353 against ECU.
The Redhawks face UW-Milwaukee on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.. Head Coach Julie Folliard is a former volleyball player for the Panthers.
Western Michigan 3 Southeast 0
The Redhawks were led by junior Colleen Yarber as she recorded 12 kills on the afternoon. Brittney Kalinoski added 10 kills to the Redhawks offensive attack.
WMU hit .295 on the day with 53 kills as Southeast added 42 kills on the afternoon with a attacking percentage of .158.
The Broncos hit a match-high .343 in the first set as they held the Redhawks to 11 kills and six errors as they took the stanza 25-15.
The second frame saw the WMU jump put to an early led, but the Redhawks would not go away making a run in the middle of the frame going on an 10-5 run and tying the match at 21-21.
But the Broncos ended up taking the set 28-26 with a match-high 20 kills.
The Redhawks earned a late lead in the third set, but a Bronco rally saw Western Michigan take the frame 25-23 and the match 3-0. The Broncos hit .341 in the final frame.
Julie Shives added 36 assists in the match with five kills and eight digs. Berkley Idel led the Redhawks defensively with 16 digs.
Emily Coon added eight kills and three blocking assists.
Jessica Brown led a trio of Broncos in double digit kills with a match-high 13.
Southeast 3 East Carolina 0
Kalinoski led the Redhawks with 14 kills hitting at a .353 clip. Julie Shives added 32 assts and six kills for Southeast.
The Redhawks outslugged the Pirates on the day .260 to .078. Southeast also dominated at the net with seven blocks on the afternoon.
Southeast got off to a fast start hitting .355 in the first frame with 16 kills. The Pirates managed a game-high 13 kills, but hit .194 as Southeast took the set 25-21.
The Redhawks struggled offensively in the second set, but managed to force eight attacking errors for the Pirates as the Redhawks took the frame 25-20.
Southeast was aggressive in the third frame hitting .303 with only three errors. The Redhawks held ECU to a match-low hitting percentage of .000 as Southeast took the set 25-13 and the match 3-0.
Yarber and Kelsey Keeve added seven kills apiece for the Southeast offense. Senior Samantha Lowman added a team-high 13 digs.
Nicole Willis led ECU defensively with a match-high 14 digs, she also added a team-high 12 kills.
DAYTON 3, AUSTIN PEAY 0; AUSTIN PEAY 3, UALR 2
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Austin Peay split a pair of matches on the first day of the University Plaza Invitational. The Lady Govs fell to Dayton (14-25, 7-25, 21-25) and defeated UALR (28-30, 25-20, 30-28, 21-25, 15-13)
Sophomore outside hitter Jada Stotts posted 13 kills but Austin Peay State University's volleyball team could not solve No. 11 Dayton.
Stotts was the lone bright spot for Austin Peay's (1-5) offense, recording 13 kills and a .407 attack percentage. The Lady Govs saw both middle blockers stymied by a stout Flyers defense. Sophomore Hillary Plybon, who entered the weekend as the team's top hitter, was held to three kills. Junior Lauren Henderson had similar troubles, recording two kills.
Dayton (4-0) had little offensive trouble, recording 47 kills and committing only seven errors (.408 team attack percentage). Senior outside hitter Rachel Krabacher had 18 kills and no errors (.562 attack percentage) to lead the Flyers offense.
Sophomore outside hitter Jada Stotts continued her torrid hitting pace at the University Plaza Invitational, posting a career-high 22 kills to help Austin Peay eke past UALR.
Stotts, who recorded a team-best 13 kills in a morning loss to No. 11 Dayton, posted her 22 kills while committing only five errors (.254 attack percentage). She was at her most dominant in the third set, scoring eight of the Lady Govs 15 kills in the set, including three in overtime en route to a 30-28 win.
She was not the only Austin Peay (2-5) player to find their stride against UALR (2-3). Senior outside hitter Nikki Doyle notched a season-best 19 kills – her first double-digit kill outing since the season opener – including 11 kills in the first two sets. Junior middle blocker Lauren Henderson added a career-high 16 kills.
All of the offensive firepower was necessary in a tight match decided by three total points over five sets. The match featured 24 lead changes and 47 ties, with Austin Peay and UALR going into overtime in both the first and third sets each before a result was reached.
The fifth set was the epitome of the entire match. Austin Peay held a 4-2 lead until UALR scored five consecutive points to take its first lead, 7-4. The Lady Govs would later use a 7-0 run, with four kills and three UALR errors helping the cause, to build a 13-9 advantage. Austin Peay could not close the door as the Trojans used a 3-0 mini-run to get back within a point, 13-12. The Trojans would give the Lady Govs match point on an error and APSU capitalized two points later on a Henderson kill.
Austin Peay won despite being out hit as UALR posted an 80-71 advantage in kills. However, the Lady Govs committed fewer errors (35-20) in all aspects of the game to overcome the offensive shortfall.
UALR’s Edinia Begic led all hitters with 26 kills. Eva Xie added 21 kills off the bench and Adisa Hodzic chipped in 17 kills.
Austin Peay continues its stay at the University Plaza Invitational with a 10 a.m., Saturday contest against Oral Roberts.
TROY 3, UT MARTIN 2
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team led in the latter stages of the fifth set tonight against Troy in its opener of the First State Skyhawk Invitational, but the Trojans ended the match on a 6-1 run to claim a tight 3-2 win (16-25, 25-20, 17-25, 25-15, 13-15) over the Skyhawks.
UT Martin received spectacular efforts out of both of its seniors. Kasey Elswick turned in a 40-dig performance, only the second such in program history. Tonight’s match was just six digs shy of tying her own school record of 46, set last season at Eastern Kentucky. Offensively, Kelly Hogan recorded a match-high 13 kills in four sets before she departed the match because of an injury. Hogan would also add 11 digs for her 17th career double-double.
Sophomore Emily Keaton also notched a double-double (11 kills, 12 digs) and added a career-best four service aces this evening. UT Martin freshmen Lynsey Hazelwood (seven kills in two sets), Shelby Hoskins (six kills, team-high four blocks in four sets) and Chelsea Bowles (eight digs) also heavily contributed to the Skyhawk attack, while Brandy Dennis handed out a career-high 38 assists in four sets tonight.
The Skyhawks fell down early in the first set (3-0) but would come back to tie the score at 3-all thanks to a kill from Dallas Zimmerman. Troy would soon regain the lead but a Keaton kill willed UT Martin within 7-6. The Trojans then scored six unanswered, but the Skyhawks kept chipping away and eventually found themselves trailing by only five (21-16) late in the set. However, Troy scored four straight points to take a 1-0 lead.
Hogan had four kills in the first set alone, while Keaton scooped up a team-best six digs.
UT Martin once again started off slow (down 8-1) in the second set, but shook it off in time to recover and claim the set. The second set belonged mostly to Keaton, whose kill capped off an early 4-0 run that made the score 10-6 in Troy’s favor. Keaton then had back-to-back service aces to get the Skyhawks within three points before the Trojans would stretch their lead back out to five at 16-11. With UT Martin trailing 19-15, Keaton pieced together back-to-back kills, then added two more aces and a kill in a span of four points to give the Skyhawks their first lead of the set at 21-20. UT Martin would end the second set on a 9-0 run, capped off with a kill by Hoskins.
Keaton (four kills, four service aces) and Hogan (four kills against zero errors in six attempts) shined for the Skyhawks in the second set, while Elswick’s seven digs and Hoskins’ two solo blocks led the charge for the UT Martin defense.
The early portion of the third set featured three ties before Troy would open up a four-point advantage at 9-5. Hogan was credited with two kills in a span of three points to get the Skyhawks within one at 15-14, but Troy would soon go on a 7-1 run to take a 22-15 lead. UT Martin could not get any closer than six points the rest of the set.
Elswick scooped up 11 digs in the third set alone, while Keaton and Hogan once again had four kills apiece to pace the Skyhawks.
UT Martin put together its best offensive set in the fourth, hitting .238 in 42 attempts (14 kills, four errors). Kills by Hazelwood and Hoskins helped the Skyhawks jump out to a 4-2 lead, but Troy would come back to tie the match at 4-4. However, that would be as close as the Trojans would get the rest of the way, as a 4-0 UT Martin run led to a 10-5 Skyhawk lead soon thereafter. Hazelwood had a stretch where she slammed down three kills in a span of four points to give the Skyhawks a 19-11 lead. Zimmerman put the finishing touches on the set with a kill that gave UT Martin its biggest advantage of the fourth set (25-15).
Seeing time for the first time in the match, Hazelwood accounted for five kills (against one error) in 10 attempts in the fourth set, while Hoskins collected four kills. Elswick remarkably had her second straight set with double-figure digs (11).
The Skyhawks trailed 6-2 in the fifth set but would soon rally behind an inspired effort by redshirt freshman Taylor Simons. UT Martin clawed back into the match thanks in large part to the 5-8 outside hitter out of Stoney Creek, Ontario who effectively replaced Hogan in the fourth set. Simons tallied back-to-back kills to cap off a 9-2 Skyhawk run that tilted the advantage in UT Martin’s favor at 11-8. The Skyhawks were a mere two points away (13-11) from their first victory of the season before Troy bounced back to end the match with four straight points.
UT Martin will be back in action tomorrow in the final all-day event of the First State Skyhawk Invitational. The first of four matches tomorrow begins at 11 a.m., while the Skyhawks host Wright State at 1 p.m. and DePaul at 7 p.m.