After months of anticipation, the 2020-21 UTM volleyball season officially started this afternoon as the squad took the floor for their first official practice at Skyhawk Fieldhouse.
Head coach Jaclynn Wilson oversees a 2020-21 roster that includes 11 returners from the 2019 team that produced a 13-19 overall mark and a 9-7 Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) record, which was good enough for fifth place in the league standings.
It was announced yesterday that redshirt junior Logan Wallick was named to the Preseason All-OVC team as the 6-0 outside hitter will look to replicate her success from 2019. The Waddell, Arizona native secured All-OVC second team accolades after ranking seventh in the league in both kills (3.44 per set) and points (3.66 per set) against conference opposition.
Senior setter Kenzie Hinshaw is UTM’s lone returner to have played in all 118 sets in 2019 – a season where she became the first Skyhawk to lead the team in both assists (1,059) and digs (284) since Hall of Famer Lindsey Vicknair accomplished the feat in 1999.
Karen Scanlon joins Wallick and Hinshaw as returning starters. The 6-0 junior racked up 2.27 kills per set on a .259 attack percentage in 2019, slamming down double-digit kills on six different occasions.
Jamie Rys (team-best 3.26 digs per set), Lucy Kaufman (team-high 3.65 digs per set in OVC play), Kayla Carrell (nine starts) and Kayla Long (1.60 digs per set) all return at the libero/defensive specialist slot. The junior duo of Addison Conley and Jessica Reynolds combined for 24 starts and 308 kills a season ago while setter Haeleigh Paulino is back after playing in 24 matches as a true freshman in 2019.
A total of seven freshmen grace the UTM roster in 2020-21, including middle blocker Zoe Merriweather – who redshirted in 2019. Amongst the highly touted Skyhawks who will make their collegiate debuts this season are Baillie Kearns, Kambree Lucas, Olivia Lucia, Dylan Mott, Lauren O’Neill and Addy Vaughn.
UTM is a little over three weeks away from their season debut, as the Skyhawks will head to Richmond, Ky. to take on the Eastern Kentucky Colonels on Sunday, Feb. 7. That is the first of 16 conference-only matches before the four-team OVC Tournament will take place on April 2-3.
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