TUESDAY'S SCORES
@UT Martin 3, Middle Tennessee 0 (27-25, 25-15, 29-27)
@Belmont 3, Tennessee State 1 (26-24, 24-26, 30-28, 25-20)
UT MARTIN 3, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 0
MARTIN, Tenn. - Yet another impressive offensive performance by the University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team resulted in the third straight notch in the win column as the Skyhawks turned away Middle Tennessee by a 3-0 margin (27-25, 25-15, 29-27) this evening.
Three days after hitting a season-best .279 against Memphis, UT Martin's well-oiled offensive machine was back in action as the Skyhawks combined for a .226 attack percentage. A trio of UT Martin representatives tallied double-digit kills, paced by Karen Scanlon's 13 rally killers on a .462 hitting percentage. Logan Wallick slammed down 12 kills on an eye-popping .647 attack percentage (only one error in 17 swings) while Olivia Saunders came away with 10 kills tonight.
Haeleigh Paulino handed out 37 assists to go along with nine digs for the Skyhawks, who improve to 4-9 on the season heading into Ohio Valley Conference play.
Baillie Kearns (10 digs) accumulated double-digit digs for the ninth time this season. As a team, UT Martin swatted away nine blocks, topped by five rejections out of Scanlon and four by Saunders.
The opening set featured 13 tie scores and six lead changes as the Skyhawks made all the right plays down the stretch. Wallick's third kill of the stanza made the score 9-6 in favor of UT Martin and forced the Blue Raiders to burn a timeout. A pair of Saunders kills helped the Skyhawks keep their lead at three points (18-15) but Middle Tennessee bounced back to take a narrow lead after a 7-2 run. The Skyhawks had set point twice and the Blue Raiders also had one set point opportunity but a Wallick kill and Blue Raider attack error broke a 25-25 tie and handed UT Martin a 1-0 advantage. Wallick was a perfect 6-for-6 in kill-to-swing ratio in the first set as Paulino divvied out a remarkable 17 assists.
The Skyhawks scored the first two points – both from Wallick kills – in the second set and didn't look back, never trailing throughout the set. A block assist from Paulino and Scanlon opened up UT Martin's advantage to 11-5 before Scanlon had a hand in four straight points (kill, solo block, block assist, kill) to make the score 16-9. Saunders soon delivered back-to-back kills before a Paulino kill off a feed from Kearns was the set-clincher. It was a tale of two offenses in the second set as the Skyhawks hit .417 (only two miscues in 24 attempts) while Middle Tennessee collected an .037 attack percentage (seven errors in 27 swings).
The third set was another tight outcome as the two sides slugged their way through 17 ties and five lead changes. Neither team took a lead larger than two points until a 5-1 Blue Raider run turned a 15-all tie into a 20-16 UT Martin deficit. The Skyhawks answered right back with four straight points – two via Scanlon kills – to even the score at 20-20. Middle Tennessee received three chances at set point but UT Martin stayed alive as kills from Scanlon and Saunders tied the score at 24-all. The Skyhawks fought off yet another set point at 25-24 before successfully converting their third opportunity at match point after a Scanlon kill. Scanlon came up huge in crunchtime, delivering six kills while Paulino had 12 assists and a team-high six digs in the final stanza.
League play begins for UT Martin this weekend as it begins a three-match road trip with a pair of contests against Belmont on Sept. 24-25.
BELMONT 3, TENNESSEE STATE 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Thanks to big nights from several Bruin contributors, Belmont University volleyball secured a thrilling 3-1 win over crosstown foe Tennessee State at home on Tuesday night.
Belmont won 26-24, 24-26, 30-28, and 25-20 to take the OVC opener in a back-and-forth affair inside the Curb Event Center.
Offensively, Taylor Floyd erupted for 17 kills and 10 digs and Lauren Walsh recorded a career-high 16 kills. The victory snapped an eight-game Bruin losing streak, pushed Belmont (3-8, 1-0 OVC) to a 3-1 record at home, and handed Tennessee State (8-2, 0-1 OVC) just their second loss of the season.
In the first set, Belmont jumped out to a commanding 15-8 lead going into the media timeout. Tennessee State, however, came out of the break with a lightning-quick run to tie things at 19-19. Down the stretch, the Bruins relied on Walsh and Kailee Bass to carry them to a tight 26-24 win. Bass collected four of her six kills in the opening frame to set the tone for the Belmont attack.
In the second frame, things were similarly close, with the two teams trading blows to the tune of 12 ties and four lead changes. When the dust cleared, Tennessee State emerged with a 26-24 win to even up the match at 1-1.
The ferocity of the second set was instantly eclipsed by a dramatic third frame that featured seven total lead changes.
After a Floyd kill, Belmont led 24-19 with an easy Game Two win seemingly in reach, before the Tigers ripped off a 6-0 run to take a 25-24 lead. Their backs against the wall, the Bruins responded, trading points with the Tigers until it was 28-28. A Walsh kill and a Tennessee State error proved to be the difference, with Belmont escaping with a huge 30-28 set win.
Walsh's 16 kills were the most in her career, eclisping her previous high of 15 set against Tennessee Tech in 2019.
In the fourth and decisive set, Belmont held a feisty Tennessee State team at arm's length by hitting .351, clinching the home win with a 25-20 set victory.
Floyd's 17 kills were the most this season by the senior standout, accomplished despite coming off the bench for the first time this year.
Floyd and Walsh put up their eye-catching kill totals while hitting a remarkably efficient .304 and .316, respectively.
Izzy Schauer facilitated the offense and shined on defense, dishing out 43 assists and diving for 15 digs. Kailee Bass picked up seven kills and matched her career-high with five total blocks.
Tennessee State was led by Mion Weldon with 13 kills while Aniya Williams and Kendall Washington each added 10. Gina Rivera-Ortiz led all players with 29 digs while Sofia Garcia-Guerrios notched a double-double with 39 assist and 16 digs.