PHOTO GALLERY
DAY TWO SCORES
#5 Jacksonville State 3, #2 Chattanooga 2
#1 Morehead State 5, #6 Eastern Kentucky -
#4 Austin Peay 3, #3 UT Martin 2
#5 Jacksonville State 3, #1 Morehead State 2
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, CHATTANOOGA 2
MARTIN, Tenn. - Jacksonville State's beach volleyball team secured a slice of history on Friday, knocking off and eliminating the top two seeds of the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference beach volleyball tournament.
After dropping the first dual of the tournament to finals-bound Austin Peay on Thursday, the Gamecocks returned to the beach courts at UT Martin on Friday methodically edging the top two teams in the league through the regular season by beating both Chattanooga and Morehead State by narrow 3-2 scores.
JSU advances to the championship day of the inaugural OVC tournament. The Gamecocks will meet host, and No. 3 seed, UT Martin in the semifinals at 10 a.m. with the winner advancing to meet Austin Peay in the championship dual.
Battling No. 2 seeded Chattanooga (8-11, 7-3 OVC) in the first dual of the day, the Gamecocks (5-8) rallied in dramatic fashion for the opening 3-2 win over the Mocs. Both first-year OVC programs, it marked JSU's first win over UTC after dropping two regular-season matchups.
Senior Bethany Randall and Grace Jarnagin put JSU on the board early with a 21-18 and 21-14 sweep in the five's pairing. JSU earned the first point of the dual, but the Mocs quickly evened the score at 1-1 with a sweep of their own in the fourth flight defeating Macie Garrison and Peyton Pauze.
With the top three flights in competition, UTC would also sweep the second pair for a 2-1 lead, and push the Gamecocks to the brink of the elimination.
On court three, Lena Kindermann and Erin Carmichael took set one, 21-14, but would fall in set two, 21-18, setting up a must-win third set. Almost simultaneously on the very next court, JSU's top pairing of all-conference selections Kaylie Milton and Kylee Quigley were also heading to a third set after rallying for a narrow 21-19 win after dropping their opening set.
As teammates gathered around both courts, Kindermann and Carmichael evened the dual at 2-2 with a strong final few points to overcome a 13-12 deficit to win 15-13. As all eyes turned to court No. 1, Milton and Quigley had a little more cushion to give, closing out a 15-12 win to claim the dual victory.
In the afternoon matchup with MSU (11-3, 9-1 OVC), JSU again took a split 1-1 score into the final three matches. The fourth and fifth pairs swapped results, with JSU's No. 4's Garrison and Pauze picking the point, while Randall and Jarnagin fell in two sets. The Pauze/Garrison connection improves to 7-6 together this season, and 4-1 since moving to the fourth flight.
Carmichael and Kindermann remained perfect in postseason play, now 3-0 during the tournament, to give JSU a 2-1 dual lead following 22-20 and 21-13 decisions.
A makeshift pairing on court two with alternates Montgomery and Addie Halverson, in her first match of the year, fell in two sets while filling in for JSU's Bailey Nelson and Glotzbach who are banged were banged up and sidelined for the afternoon. The setback evened the dual at 2-2, with the decision coming back down to court one once again.
After Milton and Quigley were forced to go three sets against Chattanooga in the morning, the duo held on to tight 21-18 and 21-19 sets to take down the Eagles in straight sets and lock down the upset.
MOREHAED STATE 5, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0
MARTIN, Tenn. - Recap coming soon.
AUSTIN PEAY 3, UT MARTIN 2
MARTIN, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University's beach volleyball team advanced to the first-ever Ohio Valley Conference Beach Volleyball Championship match by beating host UT Martin, 3-2, in the OVC Tournament semifinals, Friday, at the Skyhawk Beach Volleyball Complex.
The No. 4 seed Governors are the first team to secure a spot in the OVC title match, which is set to be played at noon, Saturday. Austin Peay will play the winner of UT Martin and Jacksonville State in the championship match, the Skyhawks and Gamecocks will play a 10 a.m., Saturday match to determine who squares off against the Govs.
The No. 4 pairing was the first to go final, with the combo of Caroline Waite and Erin Eisenhart winning in two sets against the Skyhawks to give the Govs a 1-0 lead. However, UT Martin fought back and was able to pick up wins at both the No. 5 and No. 3 pairings to take a 2-1 lead with just two matches left to play.
Needing to win both remaining matches, Second Team All-OVC duo Marlayna Bullington and Aysha Hood picked up a two-set win in the No. 1 pairing to tie the match, 2-2. Like the Govs previous match against top-seed Morehead State, First Team All-OVC pairing Jenna Panning and Brooke Moore were able to pick up the match-clinching point and secure a 3-2 win for the Govs.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, MOREHEAD STATE 2
MARTIN, Tenn. - Jacksonville State's beach volleyball team secured a slice of history on Friday, knocking off and eliminating the top two seeds of the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference beach volleyball tournament.
After dropping the first dual of the tournament to finals-bound Austin Peay on Thursday, the Gamecocks returned to the beach courts at UT Martin on Friday methodically edging the top two teams in the league through the regular season by beating both Chattanooga and Morehead State by narrow 3-2 scores.
JSU advances to the championship day of the inaugural OVC tournament. The Gamecocks will meet host, and No. 3 seed, UT Martin in the semifinals at 10 a.m. with the winner advancing to meet Austin Peay in the championship dual.
Battling No. 2 seeded Chattanooga (8-11, 7-3 OVC) in the first dual of the day, the Gamecocks (5-8) rallied in dramatic fashion for the opening 3-2 win over the Mocs. Both first-year OVC programs, it marked JSU's first win over UTC after dropping two regular-season matchups.
Senior Bethany Randall and Grace Jarnagin put JSU on the board early with a 21-18 and 21-14 sweep in the five's pairing. JSU earned the first point of the dual, but the Mocs quickly evened the score at 1-1 with a sweep of their own in the fourth flight defeating Macie Garrison and Peyton Pauze.
With the top three flights in competition, UTC would also sweep the second pair for a 2-1 lead, and push the Gamecocks to the brink of the elimination.
On court three, Lena Kindermann and Erin Carmichael took set one, 21-14, but would fall in set two, 21-18, setting up a must-win third set. Almost simultaneously on the very next court, JSU's top pairing of all-conference selections Kaylie Milton and Kylee Quigley were also heading to a third set after rallying for a narrow 21-19 win after dropping their opening set.
As teammates gathered around both courts, Kindermann and Carmichael evened the dual at 2-2 with a strong final few points to overcome a 13-12 deficit to win 15-13. As all eyes turned to court No. 1, Milton and Quigley had a little more cushion to give, closing out a 15-12 win to claim the dual victory.
In the afternoon matchup with MSU (11-3, 9-1 OVC), JSU again took a split 1-1 score into the final three matches. The fourth and fifth pairs swapped results, with JSU's No. 4's Garrison and Pauze picking the point, while Randall and Jarnagin fell in two sets. The Pauze/Garrison connection improves to 7-6 together this season, and 4-1 since moving to the fourth flight.
Carmichael and Kindermann remained perfect in postseason play, now 3-0 during the tournament, to give JSU a 2-1 dual lead following 22-20 and 21-13 decisions.
A makeshift pairing on court two with alternates Montgomery and Addie Halverson, in her first match of the year, fell in two sets while filling in for JSU's Bailey Nelson and Glotzbach who are banged were banged up and sidelined for the afternoon. The setback evened the dual at 2-2, with the decision coming back down to court one once again.
After Milton and Quigley were forced to go three sets against Chattanooga in the morning, the duo held on to tight 21-18 and 21-19 sets to take down the Eagles in straight sets and lock down the upset.