Chattanooga beach volleyball got off to a perfect start to the Blazer Beach Bash in Birmingham on Friday, earning a pair of 5-0 sweeps over the likes of Southeastern Louisiana and Austin Peay to kick off the weekend.
The Sandy Mocs made some history to open the team’s weekend in Birmingham, Alabama, on Friday, as the team was able to capture its 11th and 12th sweep victories of the season. The total not only marks a new program record for most sweep wins in a single season, but also stands as the second-most sweep wins in a single season by an Ohio Valley Conference team ever.
"Proud of the way this group bounced back from a tough loss on Wednesday," head coach Darin Van Horn said.
"Everyone showed up and did their job. Neva (Clark) and Corina (Vale) won a hard-fought match against SLU. Kenny (Faychak) and Lee (Maddie Lecik) had to execute well late in their match against SLU as well. Paige (Gallentine) and Kit (Gresham) settled in and made the adjustments they needed to against APSU.
"Joy (Courtright) and Julia (Lawrence) took control in both duals and helped us get off to a 2-0 start against SLU, and then Sydney (Jackwin) and Ansley (Gulledge) were a great anchor for us again in both matches. The second match was unique with all five pairs going at once, but the experience and leadership of this group really showed. They were able to compete and stay in control even when coaches were not sitting on their court."
Chattanooga will look to carry its momentum from Friday right into Saturday’s slate of matches, beginning at 11 a.m. ET with the Mocs taking on Missouri State. UTC then closes out its final non-conference tournament of the year at 6:30 p.m. ET by taking on OVC rival Tennessee Tech. Saturday’s match against the Golden Eagles will NOT count towards either team’s conference record and will only count as a non-conference match.
Chattanooga vs. Southeastern Louisiana – W, 5-0
To open the day, the Sandy Mocs got straight to work against SLU with Joy Courtright and Julia Lawrence kicking things off with a commanding 21-12, 21-15 victory on Court 4. UTC’s No. 2 of McKenna Faychak and Maddie Lecik followed suit shortly after, grabbing a 21-17, 26-24 straight-set win of their own to put the Mocs ahead 2-0 early-on in the match.
It was then the No. 5 duo of Sydney Jackwin and Ansley Gulledge that would earn their first match-clinching win of the season for Chattanooga, securing a third consecutive straight-set win in the form of a 21-19, 21-13 result.
The Mocs then turned their attention to earning the sweep over the Lions, and it would take three sets on Courts 1 and 3 to get the job done.
Paige Gallentine and Kit Gresham, playing on Court 3 for the Mocs, were the first domino to fall as the pair split the opening two frames 21-17 and 18-21 to head into the deciding set. Again facing a back-and-forth battle, Gallentine and Gresham rolled up their sleeves and got to work, grinding out a 15-11 win in the third to move Chattanooga’s lead up to 4-0.
It was then UTC’s No. 1 pair of Neva Clark and Corina Vale that could officially ‘get out the brooms’ for the Sandy Mocs on the day. Having dropped the opening set 21-18, Clark and Vale needed a perfect end to their match in order to get the job done in the top flight of the day.
Clark and Vale responded in the second set, grabbing a 21-19 result to level out the match at 1-1. It then came down to a thrilling third and final set of the match, where the two sides nearly played an entire set’s worth of points to decide a victor. Clark and Vale finally dealt a 20-18 clinching blow to the Lions, securing their win on Court 1 while also picking up a 5-0 result for Chattanooga to open the team’s time in Birmingham.
1. Neva Clark/Corina Vale (UTC) def. Mia McKinney/Alexis Logarbo (SLU) 18-21, 21-19, 20-18
2. McKenna Faychak/Maddie Lecik (UTC) def. Makayla Hicks/Mia Sauers (SLU) 21-17, 26-24
3. Paige Gallentine/Kit Gresham (UTC) def. Kennedi Steele/Ysabella Lockwood (SLU) 21-17, 18-21, 15-11
4. Joy Courtright/Julia Lawrence (UTC) def. Zoe Duggan/Gabriela Hrubanova (SLU) 21-12, 21-15
5. Ansley Gulledge/Sydney Jackwin (UTC) def. Aspen Steele/Anne Brauckmiller (SLU) 21-19, 21-13
Order of Finish: 4, 2, 5, 3, 1
Chattanooga vs. Austin Peay – W, 5-0
Picking up right where they left off earlier in the day, the Mocs got straight to work against Austin Peay with the No. 5 duo of Gulledge and Jackwin getting UTC on the board first with a 21-13, 21-15 victory to open the match.
Soon after, McKenna Faychak and Maddie Lecik steamrolled their way to their second straight-set win of the day as well, rolling through their opposition on Court 2 to secure a 21-11, 21-14 win to put Chattanooga up 2-0. And once again, this time from the Court 4 pairing of Joy Courtright and Julia Lawrence, the Mocs had already locked up a W over the Govs with Courtright and Lawrence plowing through APSU’s No. 4 duo enroute to a 21-11, 21-15 victory.
With the team win already in the bag, the Mocs once again turned to Courts 1 and 3 to see if the team was going to be taking home a program record 12th sweep on the season. No. 1 pair Neva Clark and Corina Vale got straight to work for the Mocs, winning their first set 21-13. They would go on to win set two 21-15, moving Chattanooga ahead 4-0 in the contest.
It was then on the shoulders of Gallentine and Gresham on Court 4, with the pair already trailing their competition after losing their first set 21-13. The senior duo didn’t flinch despite facing an early hole, fighting hard to pick up a 22-20 win in the second, forcing a third frame to close out the match.
Gallentine and Gresham then proved exactly why they are a season removed from being an al-conference selection by the OVC, as the pair put together a cool, calm and collected performance over the course of the third before eventually grabbing a 15-12 result to seal the win, the sweep and the historic 12th sweep of the season for Chattanooga beach volleyball.
1. Neva Clark/Corina Vale (UTC) def. Grace Austin/Jordan Morris (APSU) 21-13, 21-15
2. McKenna Faychak/Maddie Lecik (UTC) def. Jordyn Beneteau/Alyson Cooper (APSU) 21-11, 21-14
3. Paige Gallentine/Kit Gresham (UTC) def. Gabriella MacKenzie/Bailey Lasater (APSU) 13-21, 22-20, 15-12
4. Joy Courtright/Julia Lawrence (UTC) def. Emily Freel/Anna Kate Clark (APSU) 21-11, 21-15
5. Ansley Gulledge/Sydney Jackwin (UTC) def. Angelena Greene/Emma Loiars (APSU) 21-13, 21-15
Order of Finish: 5, 2, 4, 1, 3
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