SATURDAY'S SCORES
SIUE 3, Georgia State 0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-20)
Indiana 3,
UT Martin 0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-17)
Miami (Ohio) 3,
Eastern Kentucky 2 (20-25, 19-25, 26-24, 25-16, 15-10)
UIC 3,
Murray State 0 (25-15, 26-24, 25-17)
Jacksonville State 3, Mississippi Valley State 0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-11)
Purdue 3,
Belmont 0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-19)
Middle Tennessee 3,
@Morehead State 1 (25-17, 25-21, 25-20, 25-19)
Chicago State 3,
@Eastern Illinois 2 (25-14, 18-25, 17-25, 30-28, 15-11)
Hofstra 3,
Tennessee State 0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-16)
Harvard 3,
Tennessee Tech 0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-21)
Omaha 3,
Southeast Missouri 1 (23-25, 30-28, 25-14, 25-23)
SIUE 3, Jackson State 0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-22)
@Jacksonville State 3, ULM 0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-22)
Western Illinois 3,
@Eastern Illinois 0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-16)
UT Martin 3, @Evansville 1 (25-27, 25-18, 25-14, 25-22)
MIAMI (OHIO) 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 2
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Eastern Kentucky University volleyball hitting corps came out swinging in the first two sets, hitting clips of .429 and .257, on Saturday at the Carolina Classic against Miami of Ohio, but it was not enough to top a hot-hitting Redhawk team.
EKU fell by scores of 25-20, 25-19, 24-26, 16-25 and 10-15.
The Colonels took early control of the match by claiming the first two sets. In the third set the teams went point-for-point until a trio of EKU errors put the squad in a 16-13 hole. Eastern Kentucky drew within one four times after (16-15, 18-17, 20-19 and 21-20) until a pair of attack errors from Miami put EKU up 22-21. Errors again plagued both teams for the remainder of the set. The teams were knotted at 24-24 until two lethal Redhawk attacks pushed Miami over the edge, taking the set 26-24.
All but two Colonels that saw action in today’s match recorded kills.
Drost led all players with 16 kills and was named to the Carolina Classic All-Tournament team. Knutson (11 kills and 13 assists) and Sanks (11 kills and 10 digs) both notched double-doubles to follow.
Woody led all players with 32 assists. Chloe Rojas finished with 18 digs.
Katie Tomasic led the charge for Miami, finishing with 15 kills.
The Colonels have opened the season with 10 matches on the road. They go back to the McBrayer Arena hardwood this week to play their home opener against Seattle University on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
UIC 3, MURRAY STATE 0
PEORIA, Ill. - Murray State dropped its final match at the CEFCU Bradley Classic Saturday morning in Peoria, Ill., losing in three sets to Illinois-Chicago. Set scores went 25-15, 26-24 and 25-17.
Rachel Holthaus and Rachel Giustino led the Racers (6-3) with 10 kills each with Holthaus hitting .350 in the loss. Olivia Chatman added six kills on just eight swings for a .750 clip. MSU hit .132 in the loss while the Flames (4-3) hit .362.
UIC out-blocked the Racers 6-3 in the match. Katirah Johnson led the Racers defensively at the net with two block assists. Both team had six service aces.
Callie Anderton led the Racers with 12 assists on the day as she played the third and final set. Becca Fernandez led the team with 12 digs while Alex Kaufmann added 10. Kaufmann also led the Racers with a pair of aces.
The Racers look back to get on the winning tract next weekend as they travel to the Alabama Crimson and White Tournament. It will be MSU's final non-conference tournament of the season. Action begins Friday at noon against Troy.
PURDUE 3, BELMONT 0
LAWRENCE, Kan. - Despite strong rallies in both the second and third sets, the Belmont University Volleyball team was unable to take a set away from its third consecutive ranked opponent at the Kansas Invitational. The Bruins (5-6) fell to No. 17 Purdue (8-1), 3-0, on Saturday afternoon.
Kills by senior Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan.) and graduate student Jessica Vestal (Concord, Calif.) hoped to set the tone for BU at the top of the first set but the Boilermakers quickly rolled off a 5-0 run, pushing the Bruin bench to call a timeout to regroup, trailing 14-5. A short flurry of points thanks to Vestal, freshman Mackenzie LePage (Franklin, Tenn.), a service ace by junior Alexa Nichols (Walton, Ky.) and a PU error helped Belmont narrow the gap to seven, 15-8. Purdue grabbed a double digit lead, 20-10, and did not look back en route to its 25-13 set victory.
The Bruins worked hard to open the second stanza, using a kill by freshman Akia Warrior (Fort Worth, Texas) to notch the first point of the set. Belmont remained within striking distance until Purdue put distance between the teams, outpacing 7-2 to pull ahead, 12-8. BU continued to show signs of life down the stretch, using kills from LePage and seniors Brie Lewis (Stilwell, Kan.) and Person to close the gap to five points, 19-14. The Bruins would record three more points before the Boilermakers took the set, 25-17.
Belmont scored four unanswered points to take the lead early in the third frame, 5-3. The Bruins expanded their lead to 7-4 using dual blocks by Nichols and Vestal with a service ace by junior Haley Sullivan (Lemont, Ill.). After an 11-11 stalemate, the teams remained separated by two points through the midpoint of the set. Suddenly, Purdue surged ahead, capitalizing on late Bruin attack errors, grabbing a 20-15 lead. Unfortunately, BU was unable to move closer down the stretch and fell, 25-19, in its strongest showing over the three sets.
Person led the team with nine kills. Warrior contributed 23 assists and a solo block. Person and Sullivan both recorded seven digs to lead the Bruins.
Belmont returns to action on Friday, September 22 in the friendly confines of the Curb Event Center. The Bruins open OVC play, hosting Morehead State, beginning at 6 p.m.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 3, MORHEAD STATE
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Despite a triple-double performance from junior setter Jordan Jones, Morehead State volleyball fell to Middle Tennessee in four sets on Saturday afternoon at Wetherby Gym.
With the loss, the Eagles drop to 6-4 on the season. MTSU, after starting the year 0-8, wins all three of its matches at this weekend's Comfort Inn-vitational.
Morehead State opened Saturday with a thrilling 27-25 victory in the first set. Up 20-15 in the second, the Eagles allowed Middle Tennessee to score 10 of 11 points and equalize the match with a 25-21 decision. As the third and fourth sets materialized, momentum never swung back in MSU's favor.
Jones put together an outstanding performance in the loss, however, leading the team in kills (11), digs (13), and assists (21). The 6-foot-3 Blythewood, S.C. native finished the day hitting .526.
Redshirt junior Jessie Wachtman logged a career-high four aces, complemented by six kills and three digs. Olivia Lohmeier notched 10 kills with a hitting percentage of .308.
Morehead State is scheduled to hit the road next weekend, taking part in the Red-Flash Classic in Loretto, Pa. The Eagles will battle Norfolk State next Friday at 4 p.m. ET.
CHICAGO STATE 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2; WESTERN ILLINOIS 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois volleyball came up short against Chicago State Saturday afternoon losing 2-3 (14-25, 25-18, 25-17, 28-30, 11-15), in their second match of the EIU Panther Classic.
EIU moves to 4-4 on the season and hosts Western Illinois on Saturday evening in the final match of the weekend. Chicago State advances to 6-3 and wraps up tournament action against Alabama A&M.
Chicago State came out on fire dominating the first set with the help of Lauryn Dela Cruz who had six of her team leading 21 kills in the match. The difference maker in the match was late when the Cougars jumped out to a 7-0 run sparked by an Anne Hughes service error.
EIU would take control of the second and third sets winning by scores of 25-18, and 25-17. The Panthers would take control late in the second set with a 3-0 run from a Laurel Bailey kill to give them enough energy to secure the set. The third set featured back and forth play between EIU and Chicago State but the Panthers were able to have scoring spurts that would end up being the difference maker in the set. Maggie Runge led the Panthers in the third set adding four of her twelve kills in the match.
The fourth set featured late battle with both teams trading leads a total of seven times and tying the score 14 times. The Panthers would average their best-attacking average of the match hitting for .289. However, the Cougars were able to hold off the Panthers to force a fifth set. Maria Brown and Taylor Smith both finished leading the Panthers in kills with seven a piece.
Chicago State was able to secure the match in the fifth set with the help of Lauryn Dela Cruz totaling five kills.
Smith finished recording her third triple-double of the season with 12 kills, 26 assists, and 16 digs. Gina Furlin had a team high 30 assists. Leading defensively for the Panthers were Runge who finished with a team high nine blocks, and Anne Hughes who recorded a team high 29 digs.
Eastern Illinois volleyball closed out the Panther Classic against Western Illinois Saturday evening. The Panthers lost to the Leathernecks in their final contest of the tournament losing a three-set match to Western Illinois 0-3. (15-25, 23-25, 16-25)
EIU closed out the Panther Classic with a record of 1-2. Eastern Illinois falls to 4-5 on the season.
Western Illinois came out firing in the first set to beat EIU 25-15. Leading the charge for the Leathernecks was Emma Norris who tallied seven of her twelve kills on the night. The longest run of the set was a 4-0 Leatherneck run sparked by Shalyn Greenhaw who had a team high 13 kills on the night. Maria Brown led offensively for EIU totaling four of her seven kills.
The Panthers would battle back keeping the Leathernecks on their heels in the second set causing four lead changes throughout the set, and tying the game eight times. Laurel Bailey and Taylor Smith stepped leading the Panthers in kills both totaling four. However, the Leathernecks were able to seal the victory from a Mackenzie Steckler kill.
In the final set, the Leathernecks took control early with an 8-0 run started from a Shiah Sanders kill. Lexi May helped the Panthers set aim for a comeback recording three kills in the third set but Mackenzie Steckler and Shalyn Greenhaw would each combine for a total ten kills to secure the match for Western Illinois.
Brown and Maggie Runge lead the Panthers in kills each with seven. Smith led in assists with 21, and Anne Hughes collected a team leading 23 digs.
The Panthers return to action on the road Sept. 13 where they will travel to Valparaiso, Indiana to take on Valparaiso at 6 pm.
HARVARD 3, TENNESEE TECH 0
DAYTON, Ohio - Having checked its double-header off its to-do list on Friday, Tennessee Tech volleyball only had one match to play Saturday to close out its Holiday Inn Invitational appearance.
Tech faced Harvard to end the tournament and fell in three sets 22-25, 23-25 and 21-25.
Junior Shealene Little represented Tech on the Holiday Inn Invitational all-tournament team, her second-such honor of the season. Over the weekend’s three matches, she totaled 22 kills, 25 digs and 22 points and hit a collective .250. Her hitting percentage of .350 vs. West Virginia was her highest mark of the season.
Outside hitter Abigail Duncan also made an impact throughout the tournament. She played in eight sets and made her first start of the season against Wright State. The sophomore collected 16 kills, nine digs and 20.5 points over the three matches and hit a staggering .583 of 12 attempts in today’s Harvard match-up.
Tech trailed 18-14 in set one and mounted a comeback with Harvard about to take the set at 24-18. The Golden Eagles scored four-straight until Harvard grabbed the set win at 25-22.
The Golden Eagles and Crimson traded points early in set two until Tech pulled away for a 14-9 lead. It couldn’t hold on, as the Crimson cut the deficit to 17-16 and then pulled ahead 20-18. Harvard went on to win the set 25-23.
Tech also started the third set with a 6-1 lead, but Harvard rallied to tie it up at 12-all. Some unfortunate Tech errors helped Harvard build a 20-16 lead, and the Crimson took the set and match at 25-21.
Tech ends nonconference play this upcoming weekend with an appearance at the Blue/Gold Invitational, hosted by Toledo. The Golden Eagles will face the Rockets Friday, Sept. 15 at 11 a.m. CT and Youngstown State the same day at 4 p.m. CT. Tech closes with New Mexico on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 11 a.m. CT.
SIUE 3, GEORGIA STATE 0; SIUE 3, JACKSON STATE 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - SIUE volleyball put together a pair of sweeps Saturday with wins over Georgia State and Jackson State on the final day of the Scenic City Showdown.
SIUE improved to 7-2 overall with a 25-11, 25-21, 25-20 in over Georgia State (3-6) and a 25-16, 25-20, 25-22 triumph over Jackson State (1-9).
Senior middle blocker Taylor Joens turned in a strong weekend by averaging 4.0 kills per set with a .369 hitting percentage. She improved her hitting percentage in each match for the weekend and was a consistent double-digit performer in kills. She also led the squad with seven blocks in the three matches at the Scenic City Showdown.
The Cougars also picked up a big weekend from senior outside hitter Ashley Witt, who hit .333 for the weekend and finished with 33 kills.
Shashack matched her season high with 18 digs twice Saturday. She added two service aces in the win over Jackson State.
SIUE now returns home for its second home tournament next Friday and Saturday. SIUE welcomes UIC, Montana, and Seattle to the Vadalabene Center.
HOFSTRA 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Tennessee State Tigers kicked off day two of the Hampton Inn Bama Bash with a 2 p.m. match against the Hofstra Pride. The Tigers entered the day after going 0-2 in day one agasint Alabama and Furman. Hofstra handed the Tigers its third consecutive loss, winning 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-16).
Senior outside hitter Alexis Johnson led the team in kills (8). Samantha Beltran recorded her fourth double-double with 19 assists and 10 digs. Curstyn Wilson had two-of-the-four team service aces, and recorded 11 digs.
SET BY SET
First Set: With a slow start, the Tigers allow four points before Katora Roberts records a kill to put the Tigers on the board. Sam Beltran and Cherlie Adorno DeJesus combined for 9 digs. TSU had issues putting the ball down committing five errors and the Pride registered two blocks. Hofstra took set one 25-16.
Second Set: Tennessee State came back from a 20-13 deficit with kills by seniors Alexis Johnson (2) and Samantha Beltran (1) and multiple errors by the Pride. In a hard-fought second half of the set, the Tigers fell 25-21.
Third Set: In the final set, TSU Cherlie Adorno DeJesus and Curstyn Wilson helped fend off the .263 hitting percentage of the Pride by recording a combined 26 digs. Despite the teams work to block Hofstra from scoring, the Pride took the final set, 25-16.
The Tigers will travel to Missouri for the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational to take on Washington State, Illinois and Missouri State Sept. 15-16.
OMAHA 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1
DES MOINES, Iowa - Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (5-5) lost their third and final Drake Invitational match Saturday in four sets to Omaha (3-7), 25-23, 28-30, 14-25, 23-25.
Krissa Gearring led the Redhawks offense with 14 kills and added 13 digs for her third double-double of the season. Nzingha Clarke chipped in 10 kills and posted a team-high six blocks with Madara Bajare.
Setter Allie Henkelman dished out a team-best 17 assists and Keegan Fornoff added 15. Libero Emily Boggetto recorded 14 digs and also totaled two service aces in the match.
Gearring started the opening set with a service ace to give the Redhawks an early 1-0 lead and Fornoff bookended the set with a service ace of her own to give SEMO a 25-23 first set win. Nzingha Clarke added back-to-back kills before Fornoff finished the set. Clarke led Southeast in the first set with five kills and Gearring added four.
The second set needed extra innings and ended 30-28 in favor of the Omaha Mavericks. Krista Berns and Mikayla Kuhlmann combined for a block to even the set at 20-20. Omaha then posted three straight points, which SEMO answered with kills from Kuhlmann and Gearring along with a Mavericks attack error to tie the score at 23-23.
Kuhlmann then added an ace and Gearring recorded two kills to keep the score all square at 25-25 and 26-26. Clarke and Gearring then each notched a kill to give Southeast a 28-27 lead. Omaha rallied off three straight points to claim the second set.
The Mavericks extended their lead in the match with a 25-14 third set win. Freshman middle blocker Maggie Adams made an appearance in the set and recorded her first career collegiate kill.
Omaha closed out the match with a 25-23 fourth set. Defensive specialist Ally Dion and Boggetto each tallied a service ace in the set.
Kuhlmann evened the set at 15-15 with a kill and totaled eight over the course of the match. Omaha then rallied off four straight points to take a 20-15 lead before Gearring crushed a kill to bring SEMO within a point of the Mavericks at 23-24. Omaha held on to finish the set and win the match with a kill from Anna Blaschko.
Southeast travels to Carbondale, Ill. for a showdown with border rival, Southern Illinois, on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. before they venture to the Windy City for the Chicago State Tournament Sept. 15-16 to conclude their nonconference schedule.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 0; JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, ULM 0
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State volleyball team used set scores of 25-14, 25-21, 25-22 to down UL Monroe in the championship match of JSU's Jefferson's/State Farm Invitational hosted at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
The Gamecocks (10-3) met the Warhawks in the tournament finale on Saturday afternoon for a fitting conclusion that pitted the final two unbeaten teams from the weekend against on another.
Freshman Madison Cooler would earn Tournament MVP honors following the win, after a career-high 10-kill game that included eight digs and a pair of service aces. The Ridgeland, S.C., product finished the tournament with 30 digs and 30 kills on a .352 hitting mark.
Joining Cooler on the All-Tournament squad was senior Charis Ludtke who recorded nine kills against ULM, including the 1,000th of her career in the second set. The native of Hamburg, Germany, posted 34 kills overall on the weekend, and becomes just the 19th Gamecock in program history to join the 1,000-Kill Club.
Sophomore Kaylee Frear hit .364 with six kills and added a pair of blocks. Junior Mackenzie Rombach also had six kills, followed by Allyson Zuhlke with five. Senior Jennifer Hart dished 24 assists and the Gamecocks only needed 38 total kills to put away ULM. Hart also led on the defensive side with 12 digs just ahead of Hannah Kirk (9), Cooler (8) and Rachel Perucki with seven.
JSU pulled away late in the opening set to to secure the early match lead. The Gamecocks have won all 12 of their opening sets since the season-opener against Towson. After the first, the contest tighten up as JSU got off to a slow start in the second set trailing 9-4 and then rallied from an 18-15 deficit later in the third game.
After 10 matches in nine days to begin September, Jax State can now rest a little before departing for The Citadel's Bulldog Invitational slated for next Friday and Saturday in Charleston, S.C.
INDIANA 3, UT MARTIN 0; UT MARTIN 3, EVANSVILE 1
EVANSVILLE, Ill. - For the second straight day, the University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team put together an impressive performance as the Skyhawks split the final day of the Dunn Hospitality Invitational, falling 3-0 to undefeated Indiana (19-25, 21-25, 17-25) before bouncing back for a 3-1 victory over host Evansville (25-27, 25-18, 25-14, 25-22).
Today’s results meant that the Skyhawks (4-6) finished the two-day Dunn Hospitality Invitational as tournament runner-up after taking two of three decisions. UT Martin had previously defeated UAB by a 3-0 margin on Friday to open the tournament.
Following the conclusion of tonight’s match against Evansville, it was announced that Jemima Idemudia and Brooke Gyori were named to the all-tournament team. Idemudia tallied 31 kills (3.10 per set) on a .328 attack percentage while also swatting away 13 blocks (1.30 per set) while Gyori scooped up 38 digs (3.80 per set) and divvied out 10 assists in the tournament.
Idemudia paced the Skyhawks in kills in both matches today, slamming down 24 total kills with a .318 hitting percentage. Megan Fair also added 20 kills and 20 digs (including a double-double against Evansville) while Kenzie Hinishaw (37 assists) and Kelly Lean (35 assists) once again handled the duties of setter in UT Martin’s 6-2 offense.
Defensively, Gyori led the way with 25 digs while Lean provided 21 digs. Idemudia (eight), Hannah Phillips (seven) and Justine Walker (seven) posed an intimidating presence at the net, combining for 22 blocks on the day.
The Skyhawks round out the nonconference portion of their schedule next weekend at the Memphis Invitational. UT Martin will take on Nicholls and Louisiana-Monroe on Friday, Sept. 15 before matching up against host Memphis on Saturday, Sept. 16.
Indiana
Idemudia led the Skyhawks with 10 kills as UT Martin traded blows with the undefeated Hoosiers before falling by a 3-0 margin.
The Skyhawks scored three of the first four points in the opening set, thanks in large part to service aces from Hinshaw and Fair. Moments later, Fair generated back-to-back kills to extend UT Martin’s lead to 9-5 but Indiana soon tied the score at 10-all. The Hoosiers took their first lead of the match at 15-14 and opened up a four-point lead before a Hinshaw kill closed the gap to 22-19. However, Indiana was able to piece together the final three points of the set, capping off a .516 performance (17 kills, one error in 31 attempts).
UT Martin accumulated a .310 attack percentage in the first set, led by Fair’s four kills in six attempts.
The second set was tight throughout, as six ties and three lead changes took place. Both teams swapped points early before the Skyhawks nabbed a 9-6 advantage after Phillips posted a pair of kills and an assisted block. Idemudia chipped in back-to-back kills and Hinshaw dropped a service ace to push UT Martin’s advantage to 12-7. The Skyhawks maintained their lead until the Hoosiers tied the score at 14-14. UT Martin briefly reclaimed the upper hand but Indiana used a 4-0 run to lead by as many as six points late on its way to taking a 2-0 lead in the match.
Idemudia (five kills), Hayley Gray (four kills) and Gyori (six digs) led the Skyhawks in the second stanza.
The Hoosiers began the third set with four consecutive points, eventually leading by a 6-2 margin until back-to-back kills by Gray and Jamie Rys closed the UT Martin gap to just two points. Fair and Phillips compiled kills on back-to-back possessions but Indiana accounted for six of the next seven points. The Skyhawks trailed by as many as 11 points but kept plugging away, eventually pulling within seven points after a Rys service ace. However, UT Martin’s potential comeback bid came a little too late as the Hoosiers closed out the win.
Gray (three) and Phillips (three) combined for a .500 attack percentage on 10 swings for the Skyhawks in the third set.
Evansville
The resilient Skyhawks bounced back from a tough first set to take a four-set decision in the nightcap over the host Purple Aces.
The opening set included eight tie scores and six lead changes, as Evansville raced out to a 3-0 lead before UT Martin powered through with eight unanswered points. During the run, Idemudia and Gray joined forces for three assisted blocks while also combining for three kills. Gray later added back-to-back kills to result in an 11-5 advantage for the Skyhawks but the Purple Aces went on an 11-4 run to go on top by a single point at 16-15. UT Martin answered quickly to go ahead 23-20 but Evansville ended the set on a 7-2 run to shock the Skyhawks and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Idemudia’s four kills and Fair’s six digs were team-highs for UT Martin in the first set.
Each of the first six points of the second set were traded back-and-forth by the two squads, as no team opened up a lead of more than two points until the Purple Aces went ahead by a 12-9 margin. The Skyhawk deficit grew to four points at 15-11 but from that point forward, UT Martin dialed up 14 of the final 17 points of the set as six different Skyhawks generated a kill during the lengthy run. UT Martin took a 17-16 lead and didn’t look back, as the comeback was completed with a kill by Gray off an assist from Gyori.
The Skyhawks committed only four attack errors in the second set, hitting .256 with 14 kills as a team.
Evansville began the third set with a 4-2 lead but UT Martin quickly took advantage of five Purple Ace attack errors to go on top by a 9-6 margin. Idemudia kills accounted for two straight Skyhawk points as UT Martin opened up a 13-8 advantage. Evansville slowly crept back into contention, trimming the Skyhawk lead to 16-14 but the trio of Phillips, Fair and Idemudia was too much for the Purple Aces to handle. Those three provided seven kills during a 9-0 run to end the set, giving UT Martin its second straight set victory.
The Skyhawks did it all in the third set, as the offense shined for a .441 attack percentage (18 kills, three errors in 34 attempts) while UT Martin’s vaunted defense scooped up 23 digs.
The momentum kept rolling for the Skyhawks to start the fourth set, as UT Martin posted a 5-0 lead right out of the gate. The Skyhawk lead ballooned to 8-3 before Evansville was able to close within three points at 9-6. UT Martin then unreeled four straight points and led by as many as seven (17-10) before the Purple Aces mounted a comeback. Evansville went on an 11-3 run and took an ensuing 21-20 lead but once again, the Skyhawks saved their best for last. UT Martin posted five of the final six points, as an assisted block from Phillips and Walker sealed the win for the Skyhawks.
Fair managed four of UT Martin’s 12 kills in the final set as the Skyhawks came away with another impressive nonconference victory.