MARTIN, Tenn.- The Tennessee State Tigers lost the first two sets then rallied to tie the match but fell to UT-Martin 3-2 (25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 20-25 and 15-10) in OVC action. Senior Aniya Williams had a big night with 18.5 points on 16 kills. Classmate Gina Rivera-Ortiz was stellar on defense with 37 digs, but for the second game in a row, the Tigers couldn't overcome a 2-0 deficit.

Set 1: UTM 25-19

Both teams traded points until TSU was able to slip out to a 7-4 lead. The 4-0 run was keyed by a Sofia Garcia-Guerrios service ace. Martin clawed back tying the score at eight on an attack error by Aleksandra Rojecka. Martin continued the run fueled by two Ballie Kearns service aces to give them an 11-8 lead. Another service ace by Martin's Haeleigh Paulino made it 15-11 at the media break.

After the break, Martin went point for point with the Tigers to keep them at bay. A kill by Karen Scanlon gave Martin a 20-15 lead forcing TSU to call timeout. TSU couldn't gain any momentum trading points until Martin finished the set on a block assist by Scanlon and Addison Conley.

Set 2: UTM 25-22

The Tigers scored the first two points to start the set. UTM rallied back and took a 3-2 lead, with Scanlon getting 1.5 points in the run. After UTM went up 5-3, the Tigers tied it again on a kill by Aria Holmes and a Garcia-Guerrios service ace. After a Rojecka kill cut the Martin lead to 9-8, UTM went scored four of the next five points to go up 13-9, forcing a TSU timeout.

After the timeout, TSU finally was able to square the set 17 going on a 4-1 run. Martin regained the momentum and was able to stretch their lead to 21-18 on a Scanlon kill. After a TSU timeout, Aniya Williams had consecutive kills to force Martin to call timeout with the score 21-20 UTM. TSU then tied the score on an attack error by Jessica Reynolds. An Aniya Williams service error gave the serve by to Martin, who then scored three of the next four points to finish the set.

Set 3: TSU 25-22

UTM looked like they were about to finish the Tigers off scoring the first two points on the set, then going up 7-4 on a Conley kill. TSU clawed back, tying the score at eight on a Hadley Pride kill and went up 10-8 on a Carla Boudal kill. After Martin tied the score at 11 on a Logan Walick kill, both teams traded points with UTM going up 15-14 at the media break.

After the break, scored the next point on a block assist by Conley and Scanlon. Not to be outdone, the Tigers went on a 5-1 run to go up 19-17. A Holmes kill and a block assist by Boudal and Holmes made the score 21-18 forcing UTM to call a timeout. TSU got their first set point of the match on a service error by Olivia Saunders. A Williams kill on an assist from Kristian Marshall finished the set off.

Set 4: TSU 25-20
Both teams traded points until a Boudal service ace gave TSU a 14-11 lead forcing a Martin timeout. TSU kept the momentum going scoring the next two points with Mion Weldon sharing a point with Williams on a block assist, then getting a point of her own on a kill. Weldon wouldn't let up getting two more kills to give TSU a 19-14 lead forcing Martin to call their second timeout of the set.

After the timeout, Martin was able to cut the lead to 21-19 on a Walick kill. That was as close as they could get as the Tigers scored four of the next five points to tie the match at 2-2.

Set 5: UTM 15-10

UTM had enough as they went up 5-0 to start the fifth set. But the Tigers fought back to cut the lead to 8-6 on two consecutive kills by Rojecka. That was as close as TSU could get as they put the Tigers away on a block assist by Walick and Olivia Lucia.