Chattanooga beach volleyball wrapped up its first tournament of the 2024 season on Sunday, finishing with a 1-3 record at the Jacksonville Invitational.
The Mocs saw a pair of difficult matchups to round out their time in Florida, first taking on No. 13 ranked Florida International followed by the tournament hosts, Jacksonville University. UTC fell 4-1 to the Panthers to open the day, before dropping a 3-2 contest against the Dolphins.
“This is what we came here for,” Coach Darin Van Horn said.
“To compete against strong opponents and to get pushed outside our comfort zones. A lot to be learned as individuals, as pairs and as a team.”
Full, detailed results from Sunday’s matches against FIU and JU are currently unavailable. Finalized box scores for each match will be added to the Chattanooga beach volleyball schedule page on GoMocs.com when they become available.
Now 1-3, the Mocs will travel to Columbia, South Carolina, next weekend to take part in the Wheeler Beach Bash, hosted by South Carolina and set to run March 2-3. There, Chattanooga will face off against South Carolina, Charleston, Coastal Carolina and UNC Wilmington.
Chattanooga vs. #13 Florida International – L, 4-1
UTC opened its final day in Jacksonville with a tough test, as the Mocs squared off against a Florida International team that entered the season ranked 13th in the country. While the Mocs were able to strike a blow against the Panthers in the form of No. 4 pairing Kaye Gresham and Paige Gallentine, FIU ultimately came away with the 4-1 victory over the Mocs.
1. Giada Bianchi/Reka Orsi (FIU) def. Neva Clark/Corina Vale (UTC)
2. Alice Pratesi/Lisa Luini (FIU) def. McKenna Faychak/Maddie Lecik (UTC)
3. Lucie Pokorna/Zuza Bielak (FIU) def. Joy Courtright/Gylian Finch (UTC)
4. Kaye Gresham/Paige Gallentine (UTC) def. Hania Taduran/Zoe Cahill (FIU)
5. Ariana Castro/Paola Alvarado (FIU) def. Morgan Romano/Grace Frigaard (UTC)
Chattanooga vs. Jacksonville– L, 3-2
In the team’s final match of the weekend, the Mocs were faced with another difficult matchup as UTC was set to battle it out with tournament hosts, Jacksonville University. The top of the lineup for the Mocs proved solid in the contest, with the team’s No. 1 pairing of Neva Clark and Corina Vale earning a win along with McKenna Faychak and Maddie Lecik earning their second win of the season on Court 2. Despite this, the bottom three pairings for the Dolphins helped them secure a 3-2 victory over the Mocs to hand UTC its second loss of the day.
1. Neva Clark/Corina Vale(UTC) def. Emily Kubicsko/Jenna McNamara (JU)
2. McKenna Faychak/Maddie Lecik (UTC) def. Olivia Szyszkiewicz/Anna Erickson (JU)
3. Katie Martinez/Meredith Mrukowski (JU) def. Joy Courtright/Gylian Finch (UTC)
4. Claire Mrukowski/Kristina Nika (JU) def. Kaye Gresham/Paige Gallentine (UTC)
5. Rachel Hess/Skye Tiedemann (JU) def. Morgan Romano/Grace Frigaard (UTC)