UT Martin Volleyball Wraps Up Opening Day With Victory At Crimson Tide Invitational - UTM Athletics (2024)

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball squad split its opening day of matches to start the 2024 season, falling in five sets (21-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-23, 11-15) to The Citadel before rebounding for a 3-1 win (20-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-18) against Grambling State at the Crimson Tide Invitational.

Freshman Kylie Surratt paced the Skyhawks offensively in both matches, piling up 28 kills while adding 22 digs. Jenna Vallée trailed closely behind with 26 kills and 31 digs on her way to back-to-back double-doubles. Kristin Phillips hit a scorching .472 with 20 kills (only three errors in 36 attempts) while Katie Cruise tallied two double-doubles on the way to a final stat line of 82 assists, 28 digs and team-highs of five blocks and five service aces.

Defensively, Dylan Mott accumulated 43 digs while Phillips equaled Cruise with a team-best five blocks for UT Martin.

The Skyhawks close out the first weekend tomorrow with a matchup against tournament host Alabama. First serve is set for 2 p.m. on SEC Network+.

The Citadel 3, UT Martin 2
UT Martin gave the defending Southern Conference champions a run but the Skyhawk comeback came up just short in a match that featured 26 tie scores and 14 lead changes.

The opening set was knotted at 14-all but the Bulldogs (27-4 in 2023) rallied to win five of the final seven points. Mott collected eight of her match-high 25 scoops in the opening set alone to guide UT Martin.

The Skyhawks battled back from a 7-2 deficit to lead 23-20 in the second stanza. However, the Citadel was able to piece together the final five points to take a 2-0 lead in the match. Cruise was an all-around standout for UT Martin in Set 2, compiling two kills, eight assists, two digs and three blocks (two solo).

In the third set, the Skyhawks sided out at 63 percent (12-for-19) and held the Bulldogs to a paltry .022 attack percentage. UT Martin wrapped up the set on an 11-3 run, reeling off the final six points – including a pair of Cruise service aces. Leading the way offensively for the Skyhawks was Surratt, who was responsible for four of her 13 kills on a .300 hitting percentage.

UT Martin used that momentum to even the match at 2-all, flipping a 15-12 fourth-set deficit into a 25-23 winner. For the second straight set, Kayla Bryant delivered the clinching point with a kill while Vallée paced the Skyhawks with four kills (on a .300 attack percentage) and eight digs in the fourth stanza.

The Bulldogs started the fifth set on a 6-1 run but UT Martin clawed back to even the score four times, the latest coming at 11-all. However, The Citadel scored the final four points to hang on for the win. Bryant tallied three of the Skyhawks' six kills in the last set.

UT Martin 3, Grambling State 1
UT Martin shook off a slow start to claim the final three sets, hitting .284 in that span to take down Grambling State.

The Skyhawks trailed by four points early in the first set but came back to tie the score at 16-16. However, the Tigers posted five of the final six points to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Vallée contributed four kills in the first set for UT Martin.

Things started to click for the Skyhawks in the second set as UT Martin hit a brisk .325 (17 kills against four errors) in 40 tries. Vallée (six kills, .333), Surratt (five kills, .400) and Cruise (12 assists) as the Skyhawks led by as many as 10 points down the stretch. Vallée had three kills out of the final five points, including the clincher to even the match at 1-1.

There were 14 ties and six lead changes in the third set but it was UT Martin who came out on top as kills from Cruise and Phillips broke a 23-23 deadlock and gave the Skyhawks the 2-1 edge in the match. Phillips had six kills with no errors in 12 attacks (.500 hitting percentage) while Cruise assisted on 13 of UT Martin's 16 kills.

The Skyhawks dug out of an early hole in the fourth stanza thanks to a 16-7 run that essentially clinched the match. Phillips remained hot with four kills in five swings (.800 hitting percentage) while Surratt tacked on team-highs of four kills and four digs for UT Martin, who led by as many as seven points in the waning moments of the fourth set.