Chattanooga beach volleyball closed out what ended up being a jam-packed day at the Shoals Beach Bash hosted by North Alabama on Friday, with the Mocs playing in a total of three matches over the course of the day to beat out incoming inclement weather in the area.
The Mocs ended their day and tournament 1-2 overall, opening the day with a 4-1 loss to North Alabama before picking up a 3-0 sweep win over Austin Peay. UTC then closed out Friday with a narrow 3-2 loss to Missouri State to cap off the team’s time at the tournament.
“Today was exactly what we were looking for,” head coach Darin Van Horn said.
“We had two tough opponents where we had to battle hard against UNA and Missouri State while our Austin Peay match went a lot smoother. In that one I thought we played a pretty clean game. The pairs that won us that 3-0 I thought were our best pairs that played today, so that was helpful.
“I think that we’ve been pushed in ways that we haven’t before over the last couple competitions, and for us it’s now just about fine-tuning those things heading into an OVC Weekend. We want to make sure there are no holes in our games that we need to iron out this week, so I think we got exactly what we wanted to out of this weekend.”
Chattanooga was initially scheduled for a match on Saturday against Tusculum to close out the weekend, but due to the incoming inclement weather in the Florence area, that match has been cancelled. The Mocs will return to action March 21-22 with the team’s conference-opening weekend at the OVC Weekend 1 hosted by UT Martin. A total of four conference matchups await the Mocs in Martin, beginning with Tennessee Tech at 1 p.m. ET on Friday.
Chattanooga vs. North Alabama – L, 4-1
The Mocs were slow out of the gates to open their tripleheader day at the Shoals Beach Bash, with the Mocs dropping their match to the Lions 4-1 to snap the team’s win streak.
Despite the result, there still was plenty for UTC to hang their hats on, most notably Joy Courtright and Julia Lawrence’s Court 4 victory for the Mocs to get the squad on the board. Not only that, but Courtright/Lawrence were one of three Chattanooga pairs that forced third sets in their respective matches as Neva Clark/Corina Vale and Ansley Gulledge/Sydney Jackwin did so as well.
While the overall team result did end up in UTC’s favor, the match lit a fire under the Mocs that carried over into the team’s second match of the day against Austin Peay.
1. Floyd/Robinson (UNA) def. Neva Clark/Corina Vale (UTC) 21-19, 18-21, 15-9
2. Gepford/Grooters (UNA) def. McKenna Faychak/Maddie Lecik (UTC) 21-15, 21-18
3. Bibolotti/Griner (UNA) def. Paige Gallentine/Kit Gresham (UTC) 21-17, 21-19
4. Joy Courtright/Julia Lawrence (UTC) def. Lewis/Bolden (UNA) 21-19, 19-21, 15-13
5. Holbrook/Benesz (UNA) def. Ansley Gulledge/Sydney Jackwin (UTC) 16-21, 21-17, 15-12
Order of finish: 2, 4, 1, 5, 3
Chattanooga vs. Austin Peay – W, 3-0 (Played to Decision)
Moving to a play-to-clinch format for Match 2, the Mocs made quick work of the Governors by picking up the team’s sixth sweep of the 2025 season, downing APSU 3-0 to get back on the right track after the early-morning loss to UNA.
Ansley Gulledge and Sydney Jackwin dealt the first blow to Austin Peay picking up a 21-11, 21-11 straight-set result on Court 5. This was then followed by UTC’s No. 1’s, Neva Clark and Corina Vale, grabbing 21-16, 21-11 results of their own to put Chattanooga ahead 2-0.
Next comes a sentence that’s becoming all too common for UTC’s No. 3 pairing: Paige Gallentine and Kit Gresham would clinch the win for the Mocs. Fighting to a 21-16, 21-12 victory, Gallentine and Gresham sealed sweep No. 6 of the year for the Sandy Mocs as the team made its way into its third and final match of the day.
UTC’s No. 2 pairing (McKenna Faychak/Maddie Lecik) and No. 4 pairing (Joy Courtright/Julia Lawrence) did not compete against the Governors, as their respective matches did not begin before the 3-0 result was already clinched.
1. Neva Clark/Corina Vale (UTC) def. Austin/Morris (APSU) 21-16, 21-11
2. McKenna Faychak/Maddie Lecik (UTC) – unfinished (match was clinched prior to them beginning)
3. Paige Gallentine/Kit Gresham (UTC) def. Cooper/Beneteau (APSU) 21-16, 21-12
4. Joy Courtright/Julia Lawrence (UTC) – unfinished (match was clinched prior to them beginning)
5. Ansley Gulledge/Sydney Jackwin (UTC) def. Greene/Loiars (APSU) 21-11, 21-11
Order of finish: 5, 1, 3
Chattanooga vs. Missouri State – L, 2-3
The Mocs wrapped up their day with a very tough matchup against Missouri State, a team that was entering its clash with the Mocs with a record of 9-1 on the season.
UTC found itself in a hole early-on in the match, as Chattanooga’s No. 2 and No. 4 pairings opened the match with a pair of two-set losses, giving Missouri State a 2-0 advantage as Courts 1, 3 and 5 were getting started.
The No. 5 pairing of Sydney Jackwin and Ansley Gulledge were able to “rally the troops” in the latter half of the match, as Jackwin/Gulledge put together an all-around gritty performance enroute to a 21-18, 22-20 victory on Court 5.
Unfortunately for the Mocs, Neva Clark and Corina Vale would drop a tightly contested result on Court 1, sealing the win for the Bears. The Mocs were able to put one last tally on their side of the scoreboard, however, with Paige Gallentine and Kit Greshman closing out the day with a 23-21, 21-17 win in the No. 3 spot to pull the final score to a 3-2 result in favor of Missouri State.
1. Bach/Larkin (MSU) def. Neva Clark/Corina Vale (UTC) 21-18, 21-18
2. Cleary/Steele (MSU) def. McKenna Faychak/Maddie Lecik (UTC) 21-19, 21-15
3. Paige Gallentine/Kit Gresham (UTC) def. Schrandt/Sprague (MSU) 23-21, 21-17
4. Cepicky/Niemeyer (MSU) def. Joy Courtright/Julia Lawrence (UTC) 22-20, 21-17
5. Ansley Gulledge/Sydney Jackwin (UTC) def. Rattler/Eschleman (MSU) 21-18, 22-20
Order of finish: 2, 4, 5, 1, 3