CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team claimed the first set tonight in its Ohio Valley Conference match at Southeast Missouri, but the Skyhawks couldn’t hold off the Redhawks in a 3-1 loss (25-19, 19-25, 12-25, 13-25) at Houck Fieldhouse.
Sophomore Emily Keaton led the Skyhawks (5-11, 1-2 OVC) in kills this evening with 11. Dallas Zimmerman hit .389 with nine kills (against only two errors in 18 attempts) while Lynsey Hazelwood picked up eight digs for UT Martin. Amanda Crask tallied 32 assists and Kasey Elswick recorded a team-high 17 digs for the Skyhawks.
“Southeast Missouri is a good team,” UT Martin head coach Darrin McClure said. “We didn’t play consistent enough to beat them.”
The UT Martin offense came out swinging in the first set, racking up 19 kills while hitting .361 as a team. Zimmerman had two early kills to put the Skyhawks on top by a 4-1 margin. Back-to-back kills by Keaton helped UT Martin take a 7-4 lead and moments later, another Keaton kill made the score 13-9 in favor of the Skyhawks. Southeast Missouri would charge back to even the set at 15-all and 16-all, but back-to-back kills by Hazelwood and Jackie Harter gave UT Martin a two-point advantage. Two straight kills by Hazelwood extended the Skyhawks lead to 22-17, while a kill by Chelsea Bowles capped off the set for UT Martin.
Keaton’s five kills paced the Skyhawks in the first set, while Hazelwood and Zimmerman each slammed down four kills apiece. Crask accounted for 14 assists in the first set alone.
Southeast Missouri jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second set before consecutive kills by Zimmerman and Crask pulled the Skyhawks within two points. However, Southeast Missouri would soon go on a 7-1 run to surge ahead by a 15-5 score. UT Martin would reel off four straight points late to get within five (24-19) but it was too late as a service error gave the Redhawks the set and evened the match at 1-all.
Crask and Zimmerman each tallied three kills to lead UT Martin offensively, while Elswick scooped up six digs in the second set.
Harter had the hot hand early in the third set for UT Martin, as she amassed a pair of kills that led to a 6-3 lead for the Skyhawks early. After a Zimmerman kill gave UT Martin a 10-8 lead, Southeast Missouri responded with a 17-2 run to close out the set. Keaton’s kill ended a drought for the Skyhawks to cut their deficit to 13-11, but UT Martin would only score once more (on an assisted block by Keaton and Shelby Hoskins) in the third set.
The Skyhawks couldn’t seem to shake off the third set, as Southeast Missouri began the fourth set on a 10-1 run. A Crask kill then began a 3-1 run and moments later, back-to-back kills by Hazelwood and Harter got the Skyhawks within seven at 14-7. However, the Redhawks scored five of the next seven points and UT Martin would not get closer than eight points (20-12) the rest of the way.
Keaton’s three kills in the fourth set resulted in her 21st double-digit kill performance of her young career.
UT Martin will look to even its conference record this weekend when it travels to in-state foe Tennessee Tech on Saturday, Sept. 29. The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.