MARTIN, Tenn. --- Chattanooga beach volleyball ultimately left Martin, Tennessee, 1-1 on the day following a pair of midweek matches on Thursday, with the Mocs falling to UT Martin before going out to defeat Austin Peay to wrap up their time at the Skyhawks Beach Volleyball Complex.
UTC opened its day with their first OVC regular season match of the year against the Skyhawks, a match that the Mocs would drop 4-1. The Mocs were able to build some momentum to finish off their day, however, taking down Austin Peay in a tightly contested 3-2 victory to give Chattanooga its second win of the young season.
The Mocs now move to a record of 2-8 overall on the 2024 season. Next on the docket for the Mocs: returning home to host and OVC Weekend slate of matches March 22-23.
Chattanooga vs. UT Martin – L, 4-1
The Mocs kicked off their OVC season on Thursday by traveling to Martin to take on the conference's preseason favorites on their home courts. The Skyhawks struck early on UTC, taking wins on Courts 5, 4 and 3 to clinch the match in favor of UTM. Another win by UT Martin on Court 2 would put the Skyhawks up 4-0 on the Mocs. UTC's No. 1 pairing of Neva Clark and Corina Vale weren't ready to allow the sweep however, as the duo battled through three tightly contested sets to ultimately come out victorious for the Mocs.
1. Neva Clark/Corina Vale (UTC) def. Olivia O'Keefe/Jenna Vallee (UTM) 21-16, 17-21, 15-13
2. Sydney Eckhardt/Dylan Mott (UTM) def. Gylian Finch/McKenna Faychak (UTC) 21-15, 20-22, 15-10
3. Ryan Rednour/Addy Vaughn (UTM) def. Joy Courtright/Maddie Lecik (UTC) 23-21, 21-18
4. Haeleigh Paulino/Kristin Phillips (UTM) def. Paige Gallentine/Kaye Gresham (UTC) 21-18, 16-21, 15-8
5. Kayla Carrell/Reagan McGee (UTM) def. Madelina Myers-Osband/Grace Frigaard (UTC) 21-11, 21-17
Order of finish: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Chattanooga vs. Austin Peay – W, 3-2
The Mocs were able to rebound in their second match of the day, pulling out a hard-fought 3-2 victory over the Governors to help UTC make its return to the win column. While APSU was able to strike first in the No. 4 position, the No. 5 duo of Morgan Romano and Julia Lawrence struck right back with a two-set sweep to level things at 1-1. UTC kept its momentum with Joy Courtright and Maddie Lecik earning a sweep win on Court 3, which was then followed up by Austin Peay capturing a win in the No. 1 spot. All attention then turned to the lone match to go into three sets on Court 2, where Gylian Finch and McKenna Faychak were able to claw their way back into the match to reverse sweep their way to a match-clinching victory.
1. Kelsey Mead/Aurora Bibolotti (APSU) def. Neva Clark/Corina Vale (UTC) 21-16, 21-19
2. Gylian Finch/McKenna Faychak (UTC) def. Jamie Seward/Jillian Stein (APSU) 20-22, 21-12, 15-13
3. Joy Courtright/Maddie Lecik (UTC) def. Mikayla Powell/Montana-Rea Pelak (APSU) 21-12, 21-15
4. Anna Rita/Riley Marshall (APSU) def. Madelina Myers-Osband/Grace Frigaard (UTC) 21-12, 21-14
5. Morgan Romano/Julia Lawrence (UTC) def. Elizabeth Wheat/Tristin Smith (APSU) 21-14, 22-20
Order of finish: 4, 5, 3, 1, 2
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