Chattanooga beach volleyball’s 2025 campaign has been full of new heights and broken records, and the Sandy Mocs saw their efforts rewarded when the Ohio Valley Conference released their end-of-season awards on Wednesday prior to the 2025 OVC Tournament.
In yet another banner year for UTC, the Mocs came away with a grand total of 13 honors and awards from the league this year, finishing one shy of the conference record of 14, which was set by Chattanooga just a season ago. All ten regular starters for the Mocs received spots on either the OVC First or Second Team, marking the first time in conference history that a team has seen all five of its pairs receive all-conference recognition in the same season.
Additionally, the Mocs raked in three of the league’s four major awards on the year, with Neva Clark and Corina Vale being named OVC Pair of the Year and Clark also being tabbed as the OVC Player of the Year for the third consecutive season.
Darin Van Horn and Juliana Van Horn also came away with OVC Coaching Staff of the Year, also marking the third time they’ve received the honor from the conference since starting the program back in 2020.
“We are grateful for the recognition,” head coach Darin Van Horn said. “I’m most proud of all five pairs making the all-conference teams. I think they are very deserving and I’m so glad that each pair was recognized. It’s a selfless group and I think that has allowed the team and individuals to reach many milestones this year.”
Van Horn, alongside his wife and assistant coach Juliana, helped guide the Sandy Mocs to a 23-5 record as well as a perfect 10-0 record in OVC play. The win total marked the program’s first-ever 20+ win season, while the team’s undefeated conference record stands as just the second time in OVC history that a team has finished the regular season unbeaten.
The 2025 regular season culminated in the Van Horns guiding UTC to the outright Ohio Valley Conference regular season title, marking the program’s second consecutive regular season championship. The Van Horns have now been OVC Coaching Staff of the Year a total of three times in their careers, a mark that stands as a conference record for a single staff.
Neva Clark, undoubtedly the GOAT of Chattanooga and OVC beach volleyball, made waves on Wednesday by receiving the third OVC Player of the Year honor of her collegiate career. Clark officially joins former USC standout and multi-time Olympian Tina Graudina as one of only two players in NCAA beach volleyball history to be named a three-time Player and Pair of the Year award-winner by her respective conference.
Clark, paired with her running mate Corina Vale, also captured OVC Pair of the Year after wrapping up the 2025 regular season with a 22-6 record in the No. 1 spot for UTC. Clark and Vale also finished flawless in conference action, going 10-0 in OVC play as the Sandy Mocs’ top-flight pairing. The distinction marks Clark’s third Pair of the Year nod in her career, while Vale has now received the honor in back-to-back seasons.
The duo of Clark and Vale were one of three Chattanooga pairs that found its way onto the First Team All-OVC list, and the No. 1 pairing was accompanied by UTC’s Court 2 squad of McKenna Faychak and Maddie Lecik, as well as the No. 4 duo of Joy Courtright and Julia Lawrence.
Faychak and Lecik capped off the 2025 regular season by going 21-6 as Chattanooga’s go-to’s on Court 2. The junior combo also ended the year 9-1 in OVC play. Faychak and Lecik have now both been OVC All-Conference honorees in each of their three seasons with the program dating back to 2023. This year’s honor marks Faychak’s second time being named to the OVC’s First Team, while for Lecik it’s her first time receiving a First Team nod.
Courtright and Lawrence have been an anchor for nearly the entire 2025 season whilst playing on Court 4 for the Sandy Mocs. The duo has served up a 24-3 record on the year with their 24 wins marking a team-high this season. Courtright and Lawrence enter this weekend’s 2025 OVC Tournament riding a 16-match win streak as a pair, a streak in which their most recent loss dates all the way back to March 14.
Courtright, a senior, has received either First or Second Team status in each of the last three seasons with the program. Lawrence, however, is receiving the first all-conference honor of her young career.
The Sandy Mocs also saw their remaining two pairs earn Second Team All-OVC honors for the 2025 season. This included the Court 3 duo of Paige Gallentine and Kit Gresham, as well as the No. 5 pairing of Sydney Jackwin and Ansley Gulledge.
Gallentine and Gresham, who are both set to graduate from UTC this year, capped off their ‘swan song season’ with an impressive 20-8 record as a pair this year, playing predominantly in the No. 3 position for the Mocs. Gallentine, a member of both in the indoor and beach volleyball programs, has now received the third All-OVC Second Team honor of her career. Gresham, on the other hand, now becomes a two-time Second Team honoree after receiving the same distinction a season ago.
Finally, the two newcomers for the lineup, Jackwin and Gulledge, made a splash for the Mocs over the course of the 2025 season, finishing with a record of 22-3 when playing together on Court 5. Jackwin, a junior, and Gulledge, a sophomore, both transferred to Chattanooga this past offseason and can now both call themselves Second Team All-OVC honorees for their first-year efforts with the program.
Fans will now have the chance to see the award-winning Sandy Mocs in action this weekend, as Chattanooga is set to host the 2025 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament running April 24-26 at the UTC Sports Complex. Rain or shine, the beach team has its sights set on going back-to-back as the OVC’s conference tournament champion and punching UTC’s ticket into the 2025 NCAA Tournament in Gulf Shores. The Mocs kick off the OVC Tournament on Thursday, April 24 at 2 p.m. ET against either Lindenwood or Tennessee Tech.