Ohio Valley Conference

The 2026 Ohio Valley Conference Beach Volleyball Championship gets underway today with four matches. The first match features No. 4 Morehead State and No. 5 Eastern Illinois playing at 10 a.m. CT followed by No. 3 UT Martin and No. 6 Tennessee tech at 12 p.m. CT. Top-seeded Chattanooga will play the winner of the Morehead State/Eastern Illinois match at 2 p.m. CT while No. 2 Lindenwood faces the winner of the UT Martin/Tennessee Tech match at 4 p.m. CT.

MARTIN, Tenn. - Eastern Illinois dropped their first match of the OVC Beach Volleyball Tournament against Morehead State 3-0. With the loss, EIU falls to 5-14 (2-8 OVC), while the Eagles improve to 9-17 (4-6 OVC). The Panthers will play tomorrow at 12:00 PM CT with the opponent to be determined. Eastern Illinois will face the loser of Lindenwood versus UT Martin/Tennessee Tech. 

Tori Mohesky and Alanys Nieves were unable to find their rhythm in the first round, falling in two sets. 

Ariadna Pereles and Emma Schroeder pushed the Eagles to three sets but fell short, losing 2-1. 

Katie Kopshever and Jorah Rutter ended with a 2-0 loss.

#3 UT MARTIN 3, #6 TENNESSEE TECH 0
MARTIN, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech finished the Ohio Valley Conference regular season on Saturday with a pair of shortened matches to try to beat impending weather, taking a 3-1 loss to Eastern Illinois and a 3-0 loss to Chattanooga.

The Golden Eagles will compete in next week's OVC Beach Volleyball Championship in Martin, Tenn., taking on the host Skyhawks on Thursday at Noon. The winner between the No. 3 Skyhawks and No. 6 Golden Eagles will take on No. 2 Lindenwood at 4 PM, while the loser will compete in the consolation bracket on Friday at Noon.

With the threat of inclement weather, all matches were played to decision with the first team to three wins claiming the match.

Against the Panthers, Tori Mohesky and Alanya Nieves got EIU off to a strong start with a 21-14 and 21-10 win over Kyana Gabriel and Alanah Craig at No. 3, then Ariadna Pereles and Emma Schroeder topped Cristina Rotola and Savannah Knepp at 21-14 and 21-18.

The Golden Eagles avoided the shutout as Piper Jones and Audrey Kilgore defeated Katie Kopshever and Anaya Rawlinson in three sets, winning the first 21-11 before falling 21-10. The Tech pair won the tiebreaker 15-12.

EIU, however, claimed the victory with a 21-11 and 21-19 victory over Bailey Poppe and Kaesha Walter. MK Roberts and Vivian RoBards weren't unable to complete the No. 1 pairing as the match was square with a 21-13 and 19-21 result.

Against the Mocs, Ava Goryl and Madeline McCabe got things started with a 21-6 and 21-8 victory over Jones and Kilgore at No. 5, then Taylor Clark and Ashli McKenny topped Rotola and Knepp at No. 4 with a 21-8 and 21-6 result.

The exhibition pairing went to the Golden Eagles as Zoe Mish and Maggie Kamp defeated Avery Grulich and Jill Sandel 21-11 and 21-19 despite not counting toward the final count. Julia Lawrence and Corina Vale clinched the match – and the OVC regular-season championship – with a 21-14 and 21-11 win over Gabriel and Craig at No. 2.

#1 CHATTANOOGA 3, #4 MOREHEAD STATE 1
MARTIN, Tenn. - The No. 1-seeded Chattanooga Beach Volleyball team battled hard to knock down upset-minded Morehead State 3-1, who was the No. 4 seed, in its first match of the OVC Tournament on Thursday afternoon. 

Chattanooga woke up this morning not knowing who its opponent would be, as Morehead State took down Eastern Illinois in the first game of the day to advance to play the Mocs. 

Chattanooga earned the first point of the match in the No. 5 position, as Ava Goryl and Madeline McCabe took down OVC Freshman of the Year, Haylee Deponte, and her partner, Sydney Sennett, 21-11, 21-11. 

The Eagles soon tied the match up at one, applying some game pressure on UTC, as Logan Smith and Amelia Nott gave Taylor Clark and Ashli McKenny their first loss against OVC opposition this year. The final score read 21-15, 21-18 in the No. 4-ranked match. 

On Court 2, Julia Lawrence and Corina Vale stepped up to the plate for their side, taking down Sarah Heath and Shea Hefner in straight sets, 21-16, 21-14. They were then followed by Ansley Gulledge and Sydney Jackwin on Court 3, who took down Landyn Snowden and Hollan Everett 21-16, 21-16 to clinch the win for the Sandy Mocs. 

Fresh after being named OVC Pair of the Year, Maddie Lecik and McKenna Faychak had their match suspended after the Sandy Mocs picked up their third win. They were tied at one set apiece with M.E. Hargan and Bella Marita. 

The win moves Chattanooga to 10-6 all-time in the OVC Tournament. Additionally, UTC is on a seven-match winning streak in the tournament. Against Morehead State, Chattanooga is now 10-6 and winners of seven in a row against the Eagles.

#2 LINDENWOOD 3, #3 UT MARTIN 2
MARTIN, Tenn. - The Lindenwood beach volleyball team (18-7, 7-3 OVC) opened the 2026 OVC Championship tournament with a thrilling 3-2 win over UT Martin on Thursday evening. The Lions now advance to the semifinals to face Chattanooga.

LU pounced out to a 2-0 lead with Myah Hough and Kaelyn Putz sweeping the fives for LU's first point before Katie Bockhortst and Lexie Schauffler took a 2-1 win at the fours after mounting a comeback 17-15 win in the third set.

However, the Skyhawks took the twos and threes in straight sets to even the match, leaving it up to Nyah Wilson and Susanna Beretti to win the match at the ones. After dropping the opening set, the All-Conference duo overcame a late deficit in set two to force a third frame.

In the deciding set, Wilson and Beretti rode their momentum to an early lead and never let go, rolling to a 15-10 victory and securing the win for Lindenwood.