MARTIN, Tenn. --- It was a dominant day for the Sandy Mocs on the final day of competition at the OVC Weekend at Martin, as Chattanooga beach volleyball picked up a pair of conference sweep wins over the likes of Eastern Illinois and Morehead State to wrap up the weekend 4-0.
The reigning OVC champs looked next to unstoppable on Saturday, picking 5-0 results against Eastern Illinois and Morehead State to now sit 12-4 on the year (4-0 in OVC play). The team is already sitting at nine total sweep wins in 2025, closing in on the program record for most sweeps wins in a single season.
"Proud of this group; we played our way and we did it together," head coach Darin Van Horn said. "I feel like we can lean on each other when we need to. From top to bottom we finished the weekend the right way.
"We know the journey is far from over, but we want to celebrate the accomplishments along the way. They earned it."
The Mocs can look forward to coming back to the Scenic City to host the team's lone regular season tournament of the season: the Chattanooga Clash. Set to run Saturday, March 29 at the UTC Beach Volleyball Complex, the Mocs will welcome OVC rival UT Martin in what will be a battle for first place in the conference. The Mocs will then close out the tournament later that same day with the team's Senior Day match against Tusculum.
Chattanooga vs. Eastern Illinois – W, 5-0
Picking up right where they left off the day before, the Court 4 and 5 pairs for the Mocs set the tone early by picking up a pair of W's to open the match. Ansley Gulledge and Sydney Jackwin started things off with a 21-19, 21-14 win in the No. 5 spot before Joy Courtright/Julia Lawrence followed it up with a 21-17, 21-18 result in the No. 4 position.
Kit Gresham and Paige Gallentine then put on their clinching hats for the Mocs, earning a dominant 21-8, 21-17 win in the No. 3 slot to secure yet another OVC victory for Chattanooga. The Mocs weren't done there, however, as they had their sights on earning another sweep on the year.
Neva Clark and Corina Vale kept the ball rolling on Court 1, winning their match with a commanding 21-15, 21-10 scoreline. Not long after, McKenna Faychak and Maddie Lecik delivered the UTC sweep dagger by rounding out UTC's lineup with a 21-15, 21-7 victory. The Mocs not only got to break out the brooms, but could also hang their hats on earning straight-set sweeps on all five courts against EIU top open the day.
1. Neva Clark/Corina Vale (UTC) def. Laura Paniagua/Kaitlyn Flynn (EIU) 21-15, 21-10
2. McKenna Faychak/Maddie Lecik (UTC) def. Destiny Walker/Catalina Rochaix (EIU) 21-14, 21-7
3. Kit Gresham/Paige Gallentine (UTC) def. Ariadna Pereles/Emma Schroeder (EIU) 21-8, 21-17
4. Joy Courtright/Julia Lawrence (UTC) def. Lilli Amettis/Julia Udell (EIU) 21-17, 21-18
5. Ansley Gulledge/Sydney Jackwin (UTC) def. Tori Mohesky/Sylvia Hasz (EIU) 21-19, 21-14
Order of finish: 5, 4, 3, 1, 2
Chattanooga vs. Morehead State – W, 5-0
The Sandy Moc wagon kept their hot streak rolling right into their afternoon match against Morehead State, as Gulledge/Jackwin once again got UTC off on the right foot with a speedy 21-14, 21-11 win. Meanwhile on Court 4, Courtright and Lawrence were put in an early hole after dropping their opening frame to MSU 23-21. The UTC 4's didn't panic though, slowly crawling back a three-set thriller in what ended up being a 21-23, 21-15, 15-13 reverse sweep to put the Mocs up 2-0.
Stop us if you've heard this before, but Gallentine and Gresham then delivered the clinching blow for the Mocs on Court 3. Starting things off with a 21-12 opening set, the pair was able to grab a 21-17 second set to seal the UTC victory.
Once again, the world was put on sweep watch as the Mocs' top two pairings got underway. McKenna Faychak and Maddie Lecik dealt the first blow of the two, earning a 21-12 set win in the first before grinding out a hard-fought 22-20 result to put the Mocs one away from breaking out the brooms.
Neva Clark and Corina Vale then slammed the door shut on the Eagles in emphatic fashion, bullying their way to a 21-14, 21-13 to seal Chattanooga's ninth sweep of the season and third of the weekend. The Mocs ended their time in Martin a perfect 4-0, finishing with a combined score of 19-1 across this weekend's four matches.
1. Neva Clark/Corina Vale (UTC) def. Irene Wogenstahl/Bella Marita (MSU) 21-14, 21-13
2. McKenna Faychak/Maddie Lecik (UTC) def. Sarah Heath/Sydney Wyman (MSU) 21-12, 22-20
3. Kit Gresham/Paige Gallentine (UTC) def. Peighton Isley/ME Hargan (MSU) 21-12, 21-17
4. Joy Courtright/Julia Lawrence (UTC) def. Brenna Bommer/Shea Hefner (MSU) 21-23, 21-15, 15-13
5. Ansley Gulledge/Sydney Jackwin (UTC) def. Amelia Nott/Courtney Fitzgerald (MSU) 21-14, 21-11
Order of finish: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
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