COLUMBIA, S.C. --- Chattanooga beach volleyball dropped both of their matches on the opening day of action at the Wheeler Beach Bash, hosted by the University of South Carolina.
Saturday's slate of matches saw the Mocs open their day against the host Gamecocks, before taking on the College of Charleston later on in the afternoon. Both matches results in 4-1 losses for UTC, moving the Mocs' record to 1-5 on the young season.
The Mocs will now have the opportunity to close out their weekend on a high note tomorrow, with Chattanooga set to round out their time in Columbia by taking on Coastal Carolina and UNC Wilmington on Sunday.
Chattanooga vs. South Carolina – L, 4-1
The Mocs opened their tournament by taking on hosts South Carolina, who entered the match receiving votes in the AVCA Top 20 rankings. The Gamecocks were able to grab two-set wins on Courts 1, 2, 4, 5 to quickly seal their victory, but the Mocs were able to notch a victory of their own for their No. 3 pairing of Joy Courtright and Maddie Lecik against the SEC foe. The duo, who was playing in their first match together of the season, dropped the opening set of the match before reverse sweeping their way to a win, 17-21, 21-18, 15-13.
1. Skylar Allen/Allison Coens (USC) def. Neva Clark/Corina Vale (UTC): 21-13, 21-6
2. Riley Whitesides/H. Mackenhausen (USC) def. McKenna Faychak/Gylian Finch (UTC): 21-16, 21-15
3. Joy Courtright/Maddie Lecik (UTC) def. Abigail Lagemann/Peyton Yamagata (USC): 17-21, 21-18, 15-13
4. Chase Teal/Jolie Crawford (USC) def. Kaye Gresham/Paige Gallentine (UTC): 23-21, 21-11
5. Morgan Downs/Sophie Bengoechea (USC) def. Morgan Romano/Grace Frigaard (UTC): 21-13, 21-15
Chattanooga vs. Charleston– L, 4-1
In UTC's second match of the day against Charleston, the No. 4 pairing of Paige Gallentine and Kaye Gresham were able to set the tone early for the Mocs, fighting back from a set down to claim a win for the Mocs. Set one wins by Chattanooga on Courts 1, 2 and 3 made things look promising for the UTC side, but Charleston would proceed to win the second and third sets at all three positions. Having already pocketed a two-set win at the No. 5 spot, Charleston came away with a 4-1 victory to end the day for UTC.
1. Maria Zweig/Julia Oravec (CoC) def. Neva Clark/Corina Vale(UTC): 19-21, 21-11, 15-13
2. Jasmin Goei/Sofie Vogel (CoC) def. McKenna Faychak/Gylian Finch (UTC): 18-21, 21-19, 15-11
3. Tynley Smeltzer/Alexa Psotka (CoC) def. Joy Courtright/Maddie Lecik (UTC): 15-21, 21-17, 15-13
4. Kaye Gresham/Paige Gallentine (UTC) def. Brooke Hoven/Elizabeth Curry (CoC): 13-21, 21-14, 15-13
5. Olivia Knutson/Kora Hansen (CoC) def. Madelina Myers-Osband/Madi Morris (UTC): 21-10, 21-16
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