The Chattanooga beach volleyball program will have the opportunity to go back-to-back as Ohio Valley Conference tournament champions on Saturday after the Sandy Mocs took down UT Martin 3-0 on Friday.
The Mocs, who entered the OVC Championships as the No. 1 overall seed, had the energy of Mocs Nation behind them on Friday after a record 351 people (a program record for attendance) came out to the UTC Sports Complex to cheer on Chattanooga. Despite numerous lightning delays that led to a total match time of three hours and 48 minutes, the Mocs still got the job done by earning the team’s 17th sweep of the season to advance to the title match.
“We knew going into this week that the scattered showers and thunderstorms were going to be a factor,” head coach Darin Van Horn said.
“We talked about focusing on the things that we can control and staying in the moment as it presents itself, so I think waiting two hours to finish this game isn’t for the faint of heart. We got together and we just said as the Marines would say ‘embrace the suck’.
“We came out here and took it one point at a time. Everyone else is dealing with the same things as us, it’s not just our team. Just control what we can control, have a good attitude about it and we’ll come out on top.”
UTC now await one of three teams (UT Martin, Lindenwood or Tennessee Tech) to meet them in Saturday’s title match, which is set for 12 p.m. ET at the UTC Sports Complex. Tomorrow’s title match will be available to stream via ESPN+, but with Saturday’s weather looking the clearest of the weekend, it makes for a perfect championship environment for fans to witness in person.
Chattanooga vs. UT Martin – W 3-0
The Sandy Mocs needed to make a statement in front of a record crowd at the UTC Sports Complex on Friday, and UTC did exactly that to open up their match against the No. 2 seeded Skyhawks.
Playing on Court 5, the Chattanooga duo of Sydney Jackwin and Ansley Gulledge delivered the first blow of the day, stringing together 21-15, 21-16 set wins to pick up the straight-set victory, giving UTC a 1-0 advantage.
It was then Joy Courtright and Julia Lawrence that fought their way to a crucial win in the No. 4 position, as the senior-sophomore pairing were able to recover from a 21-19 loss in the opening set to reverse sweep their way to a 19-21, 21-16, 15-12 win that put the Mocs just one more win away from clinching a spot in Saturday’s title match.
While each of the remaining three courts were able to get underway, it wouldn’t last long as heavy rain and lightning entered the fray at UTC Sports Complex. This kicked off what ended up being a two-hour delay in the action, adding even more pressure to an already high-stress situation.
Finally, after numerous delays, the Mocs returned to the courts with the same goal in mind. Attention from on-lookers turned to Court 3, where UTC’s Paige Gallentine and Kit Gresham found themselves in a third set that would determine whether the overall match would be clinched or extended depending on the result.
Gallentine and Gresham were dominant in a 21-14 first-set win, but after dropping the second set 21-19, the pair of seniors needed to come together to help punch UTC’s ticket into the final. The duo came out of the break on fire, ripping off a multi-point scoring run that the Skyhawks could never recover from. With Gallentine delivering the game-winning blow, the Mocs were able to walk off the day with a 3-0 sweep over their rivals, putting Chattanooga a win away from the OVC title.
“As a pair, we talked about this before, we just play better when we’re playing light and having fun out there and not taking it too serious,” Gallentine said following the match. “We play the best when we’re not serious at all. Even with the break and everything, we were just present in the moment and kept our minds present with where we were.”
“I also think yesterday with that whole monsoon we already knew to kind of expect the unexpected,” Gresham added. “We just rolled with it, took care of ourselves when we had to and just took care of business.”
For seniors like Gallentine and Gresham, Saturday now presents a unique opportunity for them to play the final home match of their careers in the OVC title match with a spot in the 2025 NCAA Tournament on the line. It’s an opportunity that none of them want to waste, but each of them will cherish for the rest of their lives.
“The first thing I said to Kenny (McKenna Faychak) during our break was ‘God’s giving me more senior time’ and that I get to have another three hours to be a senior here,” Gresham said.
“Our time isn’t over yet,” Gallentine continued. “We still have tomorrow at home against whoever, that doesn’t matter. We’re just going to enjoy every second of this. It means a lot that we’ve gotten this far and that I personally have gotten this far. I’ve played for so long so to be here with everyone and Darin and Juliana (Van Horn), I’m just speechless.”
1. Neva Clark/Corina Vale (UTC) vs. Riley Rushing/Dylan Sulcer (UTM) 21-14 unfinished
2. McKenna Faychak/Maddie Lecik (UTC) vs. Olivia O’Keefe/Kayla Bryant (UTM) 21-17, 17-17 unfinished
3. Paige Gallentine/Kit Gresham (UTC) def. Jenna Vallee/Lauren Mariscal (UTM) 21-14, 19-21, 15-12
4. Joy Courtright/Julia Lawrence (UTC) def. Sydney Eckhardt/Reagan McGee (UTM) 19-21, 21-16, 15-12
5. Sydney Jackwin/Ansley Gulledge (UTC) def. Kylie Surratt/Kristin Phillips (UTM) 21-15, 21-16
Order of finish: 5, 4, 3