The UTM beach volleyball team won nine out of 10 decisions today as part of a complete team effort to open the 2020 beach volleyball season, defeating Erskine College 5-0 before turning away Saint Leo University by a 4-1 margin.

All 10 Skyhawks registered at least one victory while four UTM pairs went a perfect 2-0 on the day. The Skyhawks were 8-0 at the No. 2 through No. 5 matchups on Opening Day.

In the first matchup of the day, UTM dropped only one set against Erskine. Addison Conley and Kayla Carrell got things started with a 21-13, 21-6 triumph at No. 4 and was followed by a 21-13, 21-10 victory by Jessica Reynolds and Haeleigh Paulino at No. 5.

The Skyhawks’ No. 1 team of Karen Scanlon and Kenzie Hinshaw earned a 21-18, 21-12 victory to clinch the win while Lucy Kaufman and Hannah Phillips joined forces at No. 3 to produce a 21-13, 21-16 victory. Gintare Mackeviciute and Jamie Rys completed the sweep via a 21-13, 19-21, 15-12 triumph at the No. 2 slot.

UTM kept up the momentum in the second match of the day, flying past Saint Leo on its home courts. Reynolds and Paulino opened the bout with a 21-14, 23-21 victory at No. 5 while Conley and Carrell took care of business at No. 4 with a 21-15, 21-19 win.

Playing up a position at No. 2 caused no issues with Kaufman and Phillips as the Skyhawk duo generated a 21-16, 21-17 victory for the match-clinching point. Mackeviciute and Rys overcame an early deficit to post an exciting 12-21, 23-21, 15-11 win at No. 3 to put the exclamation mark on a victorious day for UTM.

The Skyhawks continue their busy season-opening week with a double dual on Tuesday, March 3 at Florida Southern College. The matches are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. CST.

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