Skip To Main Content

Tennessee State University

vb_22_preview_utmartin_gina

Volleyball Set to Travel to Martin for OVC Opener

9/19/2022 8:34:00 PM

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — After a successful 4-0 weekend in the Tiger Invitational, the Tennessee State volleyball team will now set their sights on the Ohio Valley Conference portion of the schedule. On Tuesday, they will head west on I 40, to take on UT-Martin (7 p.m. ESPN Plus). This will be the opener for both teams and another test for the Tigers,
 
The first nine games were a tough grind, with the Tigers going 2-7. It was especially tough because the Tigers played two Pac 10 schools, including a home game against Stanford University who at the time was the 14th ranked team in the country. Going 4-0 during The Tiger Invitation, gave TSU some footing and confidence going into OVC play.
 
"We played a tough schedule for preseason to prepare us for conference," said TSU head coach Donika Sutton. "We bonded together on the road and showed how tough we are at home. We will see if we are ready. The OVC is a grind. I can't wait to see how this will pan out."
 
This past Thursday, the Tigers defeated Belmont in straight sets to kick off The Tiger Invitational. It was the first victory over their former OVC foe since 2019. Johanna Alcantara has been leading the front line all season. Against Belmont, she got help with a balance attack from Celestial Miller leading the way with 10 kills, Alcantara pitched in with nine and Kennedy Davis had seven. Davis was consistent all night leading the team with a blistering .583 hitting percentage. Login Williams ran the offense effectively in the absence of Sofia Garcia-Guerrios, finishing with a season high 39 assists.
 
Friday's match was also a clean sweep over Bethune-Cookman. It was Miller once again leading with 10 kills on the day to lead the Tiger offense while finishing with a hitting percentage of .400. Defensively, had two players reach double figures in digs as Gina Rivera-Ortiz had 18 and Hadley Pride had 11. From the front row, Gabrielle Johnson contributed five blocks.
 
On Saturday, TSU dominated winning six out of seven set versus Alcorn State and North Alabama. Against Alcorn State, Alcantara finished with 10 kills to lead the Tigers attack while finishing with a hitting percentage of .529. Rivera-Ortiz had 17 digs along with eight blocks from Kennedy Davis to lead them defensively.
 
North Alabama came into the match with an impressive 10-1 record, but the Tigers were relentless, taking the first two sets before finishing them off in four. Williams played her best match of the season with a double-double of 48 assists and 18 digs. She also had three key kills. All are season highs for her. Carla Boudal was impressive as well, obtaining four of the 10 TSU service aces. The Tiger attack was paced again by Alcantara, who finished with 22 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .304, and by Miller, who had 17. Defensively, TSU had three players reach double figures in digs, including Rivera-Ortiz's 29, the aforementioned 18 from Williams and 11 more from Pride.
 
The Tigers look to add to their four-game winning streak while UT-Martin looks to break a four-game losing streak.
 
The Matchup: Tennessee State Tigers (6-7) at UT-Martin (6-7)
Date/Time: Tuesday, September 20 || 7:00 p.m. (CST)
Location: Skyhawk Fieldhouse|| Martin, Tennessee
Watch: Tennessee State vs. UT Martin | Watch ESPN
Live Stats: StatMonitr Stat Feed (statbroadcast.com)

SCOUTING THE TIGERS:
  • The Tigers have three current OVC Players of the Week. Login Williams was named Setter of the Week after surpassing her season high twice this weekend. Gina Rivera-Ortiz was names Defensive Player of the Week leading her team in digs all four games this past week. Johanna Alcantara was named Newcomer of the Week going for 48 kills (3.69 k/s) and swing at a .287 clip.
  • Kennedy Davis is making the most of her attacks. This past week, she swung at a .481 percentage. On defense, she made 13 blocks.
  • Carla Boudal had 10 services aces in The Tiger Invitational. Four coming in the upset victory over North Alabama.
  • TSU has not won at Martin since October of 2015 and are currently on a six game losing streak to the Skyhawks.
SCOUTING UT-MARTIN
  • UT Martin owns a 37-17 all-time record against TSU, including a 20-6 mark inside Skyhawk Fieldhouse.
  • UT Martin (6-7) tops the OVC in attack percentage (.194), assists (11.28 per set) and service aces (2.00 per set).
  • Karen Scanlon ranks fifth in the league with a .285 hitting percentage while her 2.93 kills per set average ranks sixth.
  • Logan Wallick ranks seventh in attack percentage (.279) and kills (2.81 per set)
UP NEXT:
  • The Tigers will continue their start to the OVC season when they travel to Cape Girardeau, Missouri to take on SEMO for two games. September 23, and 24.
Print Friendly Version