UT Martin earned its first victory of the 2012 campaign Saturday, defeating Wright State by a 3-1 margin (25-21, 25-11, 21-25, 25-12) at the First State Skyhawk Invitational.
The Skyhawks nearly pulled off a sweep of Saturday’s action before falling 3-2 to Big East member DePaul (26-24, 19-25, 25-19, 22-25, 9-15) in the two-day tournament finale.
Following Saturday’s action, Shelby Hoskins was named to the all-tournament team. The freshman recorded 28 kills while hitting .333 in 57 attempts and also amassing a team-high 10 blocks (two solo) in 13 sets over three matches.
Despite UTM’s 1-2 record in the tourney, both of the Skyhawks’ losses came in five sets (also falling 3-2 against tournament champion Troy on Friday).
Lynsey Hazelwood led UT Martin with 24 kills in the two matches Saturday, including a team-high 15 in the victory against Wright State. Hoskins (22 kills) cracked double-figures in the kill column in both matches, while Emily Keaton racked up 21 kills among a pair of double-doubles. Amanda Crask handed out 87 assists in nine sets, including 45 in four sets against Wright State.
Kasey Elswick tallied 53 digs, while Dallas Zimmerman and Jackie Harter each turned away a team-high seven blocks.
The Skyhawks return to action this weekend in the Saluki Invitational in Carbondale.
Against Wright State, the Skyhawks jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the first set but quickly found themselves trailing 5-4. The lead would change hands three more times until back-to-back kills by Keaton and Harter knotted the score at 10-all.
Neither side could open up more than a two-point lead until a late charge by UT Martin. A kill by Hazelwood gave the Skyhawks a 20-19 lead, but Wright State would score the next point to provide the 11th tie of the set. UTM then scored five of the final seven points.
Hoskins (five kills), Keaton (four) and Harter (four) combined to hit .591 with zero errors in 22 attempts, while Crask tallied 15 assists to lead the Skyhawks, who hit .300 with 17 kills in the first set.
UT Martin rode the momentum into the second set, leading 13-4 and 19-9 before ending the set on a 6-2 run thanks to stellar play by Hazelwood. The freshman picked up a kill and back-to-back service aces to end the second set.
UTM led only once, 8-7, in the second set as Zimmerman and Hazel-wood each notched three kills apiece to lead the Skyhawks, while Elswick scooped up six of the team’s 10 digs.
The Skyhawks has runs of 5-0 and 6-0 in the fourt set. Hazelwood’s six kills in eight attempts (.750) led UT Martin, who hit .417 in 36 attempts (17 kills against only two errors).
Keaton, Hoskins and Harter also recorded three kills each to pace the Skyhawk offensive attack.
The Skyhawks captured the first set against DePaul, thanks in large part to a 6-2 start early on.
Hoskins was red-hot in the first set, tallying four kills against zero errors in five attempts. Crask handed out a dozen assists while Elswick recorded 10 digs.
After the second set loss, UT Martin led 3-1 early in the third set, setting the tone for a 7-2 start.
The Skyhawks hit .219 as a team in the third set, as Hoskins’ three kills were a team-high.
DePaul led 6-1 to start the fourth set and 6-3 in the fifth to take the win.
On Friday, UTM led in the latter stages of the fifth set against Troy in its tourney opener, 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).
UT Martin received spectacular efforts out of both of its seniors.
Elswick turned in a 40-dig performance, only the second in program history and just six digs shy of tying her own school record of 46, set last season at Eastern Kentucky.
Offensively, 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. Published in The WCP 9.4.12