Box Score Box Score

MARTIN, Tenn. – After falling behind in the match by a 2-0 score, the Purple Aces volleyball team rallied to take the next two sets, but in a hard-fought fifth game, it was UT Martin who grabbed the 20-18 win to take the match on Tuesday evening.
 
For the second time in four outings, junior Ashley Ring registered 20 or more kills, tallying 21 to go along with 15 digs.  Katie Klages posted 28 digs while Lauren Seyller finished the night with 12 digs and seven kills.  Leading the Skyhawks was Allie Whimey, who was one of three UTM players to hit double figures, notching 16.
 
"It was another heartbreaker, I am glad we were able to fight back from 2-0, being in a tough situation," head coach Manolo Concepcion said.  "We executed the game plan as expected, but ever in the fifth set down 8-3, our girls did not give up and came back, showing a lot of heart.  We will continue to work had to improve small details."
 
Game one saw the Skyhawks take the early advantage at 14-11 before a 4-0 stretch saw Evansville take its first lead on a Ring kill.  UTM fought back with three-straight of its own in a run capped off by an Alisha Erves kill and would not relinquish that lead, taking a 25-21 victory.
 
The second set saw both squads set the tone for what would be a competitive effort all the way around.  UE took three early leads as the score stood at 10-8 following three consecutive UTM errors.  At that point, the Skyhawks posted five of the next six tallies to go up 13-11.  Lynsey Hazelwood notched three kills over that span.
 
Five ties ensued before UE took a 23-21 lead on a UTM ball handling error.  The Skyhawks came back as Emily Keaton posted a pair of kills to clinch a 26-24 win and a 2-0 lead in the series.
 
Taking confidence from a strong second set, the Aces led the whole way in game three as a Ring kill set UE on a 3-0 stretch to get things started.  Up 10-8, Evansville scored five out of six points as Stephanie Cerino capped it off with a kill to take a 15-9 lead.  Their edge would not go below four point as the Aces won by a 25-17 final.
 
Early in the fourth set, it looked as if the Skyhawks were going to run away with things as they posted the first six points en route to a 7-2 advantage.  Three of those points came via service aces.  Refusing to give up, the Aces, led by Cerino who was serving at the time, scored five in a row to quickly tie it up. 
 
Later, with UTM up 16-15, Evansville went on a 5-1 run as Emma Roberson notched a pair of kills.  That stretch helped the Aces force a deciding set thanks to a 25-22 win.
 
As was the case in the fourth game, UTM came out on fire in the fifth, going up 8-3 as Keaton had a pair of kills to set the pace.  Once again, UE did not miss a beat as they fought back to tie the score for the first time at 11-11 before a 5-0 run saw the Aces take a 13-11 advantage.  The score was tied on every point from 14 through 18 before the Skyhawks were finally able to hang on, getting a pair of kills to clinch the match with a 20-18 win.
This weekend, the Aces will be back on the road for the Miami (Ohio) Tournament in Oxford, Ohio.  They take on the host RedHawks on Friday at 7 p.m. ET before wrapping up the weekend versus Northern Kentucky on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET.