MARTIN, Tenn. – Alabama A&M (0-5, 0-0 SWAC) started slowly and rebounded late in a pair of matches before falling by 3-0 scores to UT-Martin (3-2, 0-0 OVC) and Arkansas State (4-1, 0-0 SBC) on Day 1 of the Skyhawk Invitational in NCAA Division I women's volleyball matches on Friday, September 2.
 
UT-MARTIN 3, ALABAMA A&M 0
Trailing 2-0 early, the homestanding Skyhawks rattled off five straight points for a 5-2 lead before Alabama A&M knotted it up at 6-6. From there, however, it would be all UT-Martin as they exploded for a whopping 15 straight points to blow it open with a 21-6 lead before closing out a 25-9 opening set victory.
 
The Bulldogs would get their feet under them in the second set as they battled to a 10-10 deadlock after staying within two points to that juncture. They would then take 12-11 and 14-13 leads before back-to-back points by UTM flipped the script and put them ahead 16-13.
 
Consecutive kills by freshman outside hitter Bailey Duckett (Huntsville, Ala.) and sophomore setter Keyara Brooks (Arlington, Texas) closed the gap back to one but five straight points by the Skyhawks staked them to a 21-16 advantage. A&M bounced back with three of the next five points to cut it to 23-18 but UT-Martin delivered the next two points to close out the seven-point victory to go up 2-0.
 
UTM looked like they would put the match away early in the third as they powered out to leads of 10-3 and 15-7 but would not have it that easy. Trailing by that eight-point margin the Bulldogs responded with an 11-5 run that sliced the deficit to just 20-18 before back-to-back points made it a four-point lead. A&M then forced three attack errors as part of a 5-2 run that deadlocked the match at 23-23.
 
They would not be able to get over the hump, however, as Kayla Bryant and Karen Scanlon posted consecutive kills to close out the set, and the match, with a 25-23 decision.
 
Duckett led the way for the Bulldogs with 11 kills along with five digs while Brooks dished out 20 assists with three digs. Freshman middle blocker Kemora Coachman (Harvest, Ala.) rounded out the top performers with four kills, three block assists and five digs.
 
Scanlon matched Duckett with 11 kills and five digs for the Skyhawks and Dylan Mott produced an impressive 20 digs in just three sets of action. Kayla Bryant drilled eight kills and Kambree Lucas had seven while Haeleigh Paulino and Hannah Haislip dished out 21 and 13 assists, respectively.
 
ARKANSAS STATE 3, ALABAMA A&M 0
In the night cap it would be all Arkansas State as they took a narrow 5-3 lead in the opening set before exploding for nine straight points and a 14-3 advantage. The Bulldogs would bounce back with five of the next six points to get to within 15-8 only to see that rally snuffed out with another nine consecutive points on the way to a 25-9 final.
 
The Red Wolves would build on that momentum with an early 9-3 lead before extending that to 16-8 midway through. It would get no better, however, as they would post a 9-4 stretch to close out a 25-12 frame and go up 2-0.
 
ASU jumped out to a 7-4 advantage only to see a 4-1 burst tie it at 8-8 before retaking the lead at 12-10. Back-to-back points by A&M deadlocked it again but this time the Red Wolves answered with a with a withering 13-3 match-ending run that gave them a 25-15 set decision and 3-0 match victory.
 
Duckett delivered seven kills and four digs and Brooks notched 19 assists and six digs to pace Alabama A&M. Graduate outside hitter Valeria Alegrias Cambindo (Santiago De Cali, Columbia) led the defense with 10 digs while freshman outside hitter Caitlin Shaw (Desoto, Texas) had six kills.
 
Macey Putt led ASU with 11 kills and added five digs while Lauren Musante dished out 25 assists to fuel the offense. Kassidy Reeves added 10 assists, Kyla Wiersema eight kills and Sarah Martinez anchored the defense with 13 digs.
 
Alabama A&M wraps up the Skyhawk Invitational as they take on Western Illinois in the finale tomorrow, September 3. First serve is set for 11 a.m. in Martin, Tennessee.