MOUNT BERRY, Ga.--- Chattanooga beach volleyball came out swinging in its opening two matches of the Berry Kick-Off Tournament on Friday, with the Mocs picking up a pair of 5-0 sweeps over the likes of Florida Southern and Truett McConnell.

The Mocs (6-2) looked dominant to open up the team's second tournament weekend of 2025, as UTC picked up its first two sweep wins of the 2025 campaign in what was a day that saw just about everything going Chattanooga's way. In fact, the Mocs ended up being victorious in a total of 20 out of the team's 22 sets played on Friday with only two matches not resulting in straight-set sweeps.

"Today had its good moments and bad, but what I took away was the consistency," head coach Darin Van Horn said. "I think we were able to trust our partners and strategies. There were moments we got behind or got frustrated mentally, but we didn't check out. We reset and stayed the course and we need to continue that in our future matches."

The Mocs will now close out their time in Mount Berry, Georgia, tomorrow morning by taking on tournament host Berry College at 9 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 8. The Vikings suffered a 5-0 defeat to Florida Southern in the team's lone match of the day on Friday.

Chattanooga vs. Florida Southern – W, 5-0
Ansley Gulledge and Sydney Jackwin got right to work in what was the "Battle of the Mocs" early on Friday morning. Gulledge and Jackwin were clinical for UTC in the No. 5 spot, picking up a 21-12, 21-18 straight-set win to get Chattanooga on the board first.

The tide continued to flow UTC's way when Julia Lawrence and Joy Courtright grinded out a straight-set win of their own, taking the match on Court 4 by a score of 21-12, 22-20. It wasn't long after that the Court 3 duo of Paige Gallentine and Kit Gresham once again served as the match-clinchers for the Mocs, as Gallentine and Gresham put together a clean 21-15, 21-19 result.

McKenna Faychak and Maddie Lecik continued to showcase Chattanooga's dominance in the match by grabbing yet another two-set win on the day, as Faychak and Lecik took the Court 2 match 21-19, 21-15 to move the Mocs ahead 4-0. It was then UTC's No. 1 pairing of Neva Clark and Corina Vale that sealed the 5-0 sweep for the Mocs. It may have took three sets, but Clark and Vale showcased just why they are the reigning SoCon Pair of the Year as the duo ended up picking up a 21-15, 22-24, 15-10 win to clinch Chattanooga's 5-0 sweep over Florida Southern.

1. Neva Clark/Corina Vale (UTC) def. Emma Winford/Ashli McKenny (FSC) 21-15, 22-24, 15-10
2. McKenna Faychak/Maddie Lecik (UTC) def. Hailey Carefoot/Reagan Carlton (FSC) 21-19, 21-15
3. Paige Gallentine/Kit Gresham (UTC) def. Zoe Loe/Isabella Mum (FSC) 21-15, 21-19
4. Julia Lawrence/Joy Courtright (UTC) def. Sydney Melcher/Aubrey Wieser (FSC) 21-12, 22-20
5. Ansley Gulledge/Sydney Jackwin (UTC) def. Hayle St. Martin/Mary Olivia Mult (FSC) 21-12, 21-18

Order of finish: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Chattanooga vs. Truett McConnell – W, 5-0
The Mocs wouldn't have to wait long to get another opportunity to get out the brooms on Friday, as immediately following their match against Florida Southern the Mocs had to take on Truett McConnell University. Once again the Court 5 pairing of Ansley Gulledge and Sydney Jackwin set the tone early in the match, this time in commanding fashion as Gulledge/Jackwin dismantled their opposition in what ultimately was a 21-10, 21-6 for the pair.

Soon after, UTC's No. 4 pair of Lawrence and Courtright as well as UTC's No. 2 pair of Faychak and Lecik guaranteed a second Chattanooga team win on the day. Lawrence/Courtright were quick to grab a 21-12, 21-14 result in the No. 4 spot before Faychak/Lecik clinched their first match of the season for the Mocs after winning their Court 2 bout 21-17, 21-15.

Gallentine and Gresham followed closely in Faychak and Lecik's footsteps, earning a 21-10, 21-16 win in the No. 3 spot. All eyes would once again go to the No. 1 pairing of Clark and Vale for the Mocs.

With Clark/Vale having dropped the opening set 24-22, the pair needed to roll up their sleeves and pull off a reverse sweep in order to keep UTC's hopes of back-to-back 5-0 wins alive. The pair did just that, battling their way to a 21-10 win in the second set before dominating the third set 15-4 to clinch the match and secure UTC's second sweep of the day, this time over Truett McConnell.

1. Neva Clark/Corina Vale (UTC) def. Emma Roland/Jordan Roberts (TMU) 22-24, 21-10, 15-4
2. McKenna Faychak/Maddie Lecik (UTC) def. Deomi Valmas/Nadia Luliaki (TMU) 21-17, 21-15
3. Paige Gallentine/Kit Gresham (UTC) def. Elizabeth Franklin/Kaleigh McFarland (TMU) 21-10, 21-16
4. Julia Lawrence/Joy Courtright (UTC) def. Camille Godfrey/Rachel Kessley (TMU) 21-12, 21-14
5. Ansley Gulledge/Sydney Jackwin (UTC) def. Sameily Marquez/Riley Strickland (TMU) 21-10, 21-6

Order of finish: 5, 4, 2, 3, 1

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