Chattanooga beach volleyball continued its hot spell through the team’s opening day of matches at the Scenic City Showdown on Friday, toppling UT Martin and Austin Peay to string together seven straight victories.
The Mocs (8-8, 5-1 OVC) hit the ground running following a two-week hiatus with no matches, first by taking down UT Martin (9-10, 5-1 OVC) in a 3-2 thriller before wrapping up their day with an impressive 5-0 thrashing of Austin Peay (7-11).
“This team’s put in a lot of work in practice,” head coach Darin Van Horn said.
“I’ve been giving them some restrictions to them that are very frustrating, but they’re working through it and getting better in those little details. We know we have a good team and now we’ve just been fine tuning some things and we’ve just done a really good job at building our momentum through this past week to be able to come out and play a little bit better.”
“We’re getting better each week, which is what you strive for as a coach.”
UTC opened the day against UT Martin in a battle of the top two teams in the Ohio Valley Conference standings. With gritty three-set victories over the Skyhawks, the Mocs were able to claim their first win over UTM since 2022 to now have one foot in the door for at least a share of the OVC regular season crown.
“That was one that was circled on our calendar,” Van Horn said. “We had lost to them the first time around and being the No. 1 and 2 in the conference, we really wanted to come out and give a better battle than we did the first time. We took it one point at a time and it really showed today.”
The Mocs then dominated the APSU Governors in the final match of the day on Friday, putting together blowout victories on nearly every court and ultimately capturing the team’s fifth sweep of the season, all of which have come in the last six matches.
Chattanooga returns to action bright and early tomorrow morning at the UTC Sports Complex, with UTC’s first of three matches on the day coming at 8 am ET against Tusculum. The Mocs will then host the team’s Senior Day celebration prior to having a rematch with Austin Peay at 2 pm ET, before the team closes out the Scenic City Showdown immediately after with a 4pm ET matchup against Carson-Newman.
Chattanooga vs. UT Martin – W, 3-2
To help keep UTC’s hopes of an Ohio Valley Conference regular season title alive, the Mocs needed a win on Friday, and they got just that. Despite dropping an early match on Court 5, the No. 4 pairing of Paige Gallentine and Kaye Gresham gritted out a hard-fought reverse sweep win, leveling the score as the top three duos all took the court. Chattanooga’s No. 1 squad of Neva Clark and Corina Vale continued what has been a dominant stretch for them, sweeping through their match in two sets to put the Mocs on the cusp of victory. After Courts 2 and 3 made their way to third sets, it was the heroics of Gylian Finch and McKenna Faychak that would hand the Mocs the edge in their 3-2 victory over the Skyhawks. The win moves UTC up into a tie for first with UT Martin as the OVC regular season schedule reaches its last few stages.
1. Neva Clark/Corina Vale (UTC) def. Dylan Mott/Jenna Vallee (UTM) 21-13, 21-16
2. Gylian Finch/McKenna Faychak (UTC) def. Olivia O’Keefe/Sydney Eckhardt (UTM) 17-21, 21-17, 16-14
3. Addy Vaughn/Ryan Rednour (UTM) def. Joy Courtright/Maddie Lecik (UTC) 16-21, 21-19, 18-16
4. Paige Gallentine/Kaye Gresham (UTC) def. Dylan Sulcer/Haeleigh Paulino (UTM) 19-21, 21-15, 15-7
5. Kayla Carrell/Reagan McGee (UTM) def. Morgan Romano/Julia Lawrence (UTC) 21-17, 21-14
Order of finish: 5, 4, 1, 2, 3
Chattanooga vs. Austin Peay – W, 5-0
Chattanooga had already met the Governors earlier this season on neutral ground, coming away with a 3-2 victory at the time to spark the team’s current win streak. Now nearly a month later and on UTC’s home courts, the Mocs were looking for a statement victory. Starting first with Court 4 and Court 5 victories, the Mocs were off to a roaring start. It wouldn’t take long for Neva Clark and Corina Vale to serve as the clinching blow for UTC, rushing through their No. 1 singles matchup to claim a dominant 21-13, 21-10 win. Court 2 and 3 duals were just as convincing wins for the Mocs, with Joy Courtright/Maddie Lecik cruising to a 21-11, 21-17 while Finch/Faychak followed closely behind with a 21-8, 21-13 win of their own.
1. Neva Clark/Corina Vale (UTC) def. Kelsey Mead/Aurora Bibolotti (APSU) 21-13, 21-10
2. Gylian Finch/McKenna Faychak (UTC) def. Riley Marshall/Anna Rita (APSU) 21-8, 21-13
3. Joy Courtright/Maddie Lecik (UTC) def. Mikayla Powell/Maggie Dugos (APSU) 21-11, 21-17
4. Paige Gallentine/Kaye Gresham (UTC) def. Jillian Stein/Jamie Seward (APSU) 21-18, 21-19
5. Morgan Romano/Julia Lawrence (UTC) def. Elizabeth Wheat/Tristin Smith (APSU) 21-18, 18-21, 15-13
Order of finish: 4, 5, 1, 3, 2