A season to remember for the Mocs came to a close on Friday morning in Gulf Shores, Alabama, with the Chattanooga beach volleyball team falling at the hands of North Florida, 3-0, in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Beach Volleyball Tournament.
The Mocs left the beach with nothing to hang their heads about, having entered the matchup with UNF as first-time Ohio Valley Conference regular season and tournament champions. The Ospreys did play spoiler on UTC’s Cinderella story, with North Florida claiming wins on Courts 1, 2 and 4 to emerge victorious and advance in the bracket to play No. 1 seeded USC.
“I think a lot of the memories of this season are starting to flood into me right now, and I’m so glad I’m gonna be able to sit back and enjoy a lot of those memories including the ones we made here this week,” head coach Darin Van Horn said. “I’m just super proud of this team. We wanted to go out there and make a statement by being the first OVC to win here, but they fought hard and I’m really proud of them. Just sad to see it come to an end.”
UTC’s 2024 season ultimately ends with the Mocs holding a record of 19-10, including going 9-1 in the OVC. Coach Van Horn is set to return a total of eight players from the team’s starting lineup for the 2025 season, including the 2024 OVC Pair of the Year: Neva Clark and Corina Vale.
Chattanooga vs. North Florida – L, 3-0.
Despite falling 3-0 to UNF, the Mocs left everything out there on Gulf Shores Public Beach on Friday with the team’s historic season coming to close in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The No. 5 pairing of Morgan Romano and Julia Lawrence were able to strike early for the Mocs with a 21-17 set win to open their match. Romano and Lawrence’s match would go unfinished, as the Ospreys were able to scoop up wins on Courts 1, 2, and 4 to ultimately clinch the match, 3-0, advancing to take on No. 1 seeded USC. Another silver lining for UTC came on Court 3, however, as Joy Courtright and Maddie Lecik were on set point, approaching a potential forced third set in their match.
1. Taylor Pierce/Michaela Rezentez (UNF) def. Neva Clark/Corina Vale (UTC) 21-14, 21-16
2. Presley Murray/Madison Espy (UNF) def. Gylian Finch/McKenna Faychak (UTC) 21-13, 21-14
3. Joy Courtright/Maddie Lecik (UTC) vs. Katie Camp/Iris Fletcher (UNF) 16-21, 20-19
4. Cameron Humphries/Hayden Wooldridge (UNF) def. Kaye Gresham/Paige Gallentine (UTC) 21-13, 21-10
5. Morgan Romano/Julia Lawrence (UTC) vs. Mariana Fel. Sanchez/Mackenzie Murphy (UNF) 21-17, 17-21
Order of finish: 1, 2, 4