Ohio Valley Conference

Day two of the 2026 Ohio Valley Conference Beach Volleyball Championship features the top two seeds, Chattanooga and Lindenwood, in a 2:00 p.m. CT showdown for a right to move on to the finals. The day begins with a pair of elimination matches between Morehead State and Tennessee Tech, followed by UT Martin versus Eastern Illinois. Action begins at 10:00 a.m. at the Skyhawk Beach Volleyball Complex.

The winners of the first two matches will meet in the final match to determine who advances to the semifinals on Saturday.

MARTIN, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech saw its beach volleyball season come to a close on the second day of the Ohio Valley Conference Beach Volleyball Championships at UT Martin as No. 4-seeded Morehead State claimed a 3-0 victory over the Golden Eagles.

Audrey Kilgore and Cristina Rotola took Morehead's Logan Smith and Amelia Nott to the brink in the No. 4 matchup as the MSU pair took the first set 21-10 before the Tech duo won the second 21-19. It all came down to the tiebreaker as Smith and Nott had to go to extra points to claim an 18-16 win.

At No. 5, Haylee DePonte and Sydney Sennett defeated Zoe Mish and Piper Jones 21-17 and 21-12, while Kyana Gabriel and Alanah Craig fell to Sarah Heath and Shea Hefner 21-12 and 21-11 to clinch the match.

The No. 1 and No. 3 pairings went unfinished as M.E. Hargan and Bella Marita led M.K. Roberts and Vivian RoBards 21-19 and 17-7 in the second, while Landyn Snowden and Hollan Everett led Bailey Poppe and Savannah Knepp 21-11 and 20-12

#3 UT MARTIN 3, #5 EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
MARTIN, Tenn. - Eastern Illinois' historic season comes to an end with a 3-0 loss to UT Martin on the second day of the OVC tournament. Panthers end the season with the most wins in a single season in program history. EIU also won the most conference wins in a single season in school history.

#1 CHATTANOOGA 3, #2 LINDENWOOD 2
MARTIN, Tenn. - It was anything but straightforward for the No. 1-seeded Chattanooga Beach Volleyball team on Friday in the Semifinals of the OVC Tournament. The Sandy Mocs went to five sets with the No. 2 seed, Lindenwood, but behind two late victories from UTC's top two pairs, Chattanooga won 3-2. That will do just fine for the Blue and Gold, as the win clinches a spot in tomorrow's Championship match. It's the third year in a row UTC will play for the tournament trophy.

Three of the five matches went to three sets, with Chattanooga winning two of those. Also, UTC trailed 2-1 in the match, but as good teams do, the Sandy Mocs found a way to get the job done. It's their third 3-2 win of the year, and they are now 3-2 in five-set matches this season. 

For the season, Chattanooga moves to 23-4 while Lindenwood drops to 18-8. Chattanooga is 11-6 all-time in the OVC Tournament and has won eight straight matches in the event. 

Lindenwood earned the first point of the match in the No. 5 slot, as Mya Hough and Kaelyn Putz took down Chattanooga's Ava Goryl and Madeline McCabe 21-12, 21-11. It was Goryl and McCabe's first loss against OVC opposition this season. 

Taylor Clark and Ashli McKenny bounced back from a defeat yesterday to win a three-set battle with Lexie Schauffler and Katie Bockhorst. The final score in the No. 4 position read 21-15, 21-23, 15-11.

The Lions jumped back ahead with their lone three-set win of the day on Court 3. Aubrey Sheppard and Gabby Belcher handed Ansley Gulledge and Sydney Jackwin a 19-21, 21-19, 15-11 defeat. 

On Court 1, Mckenna Faychak and Maddie Lecik came through with Chattanooga's only straight set win of the match, taking down Nyah Wilson and Susanna Beretti 21-18, 21-16. This tied the match back at two apiece and put all the attention on Court 2. 

With the match on the line, Julia Lawrence and Corina Vale came through when the Sandy Mocs needed them most, defeating Abby Jacobs and Annalie McWhorter 21-13, 21-23, 15-11. In the decisive third set, Lawrence and Vale came back from an early 6-4 deficit to secure the win for themselves and the team.

#3 UT Martin 3, #4 MOREHEAD STATE 0
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin beach volleyball squad is one of three teams remaining in the 2026 Ohio Valley Conference Championship as the Skyhawks qualified for the final day of the tournament after 3-0 sweeps over Eastern Illinois and Morehead State.

UT Martin (17-8) will play on the final day of the OVC Championship tournament for the sixth time in the six-year history of the event, taking on No. 2 seed Lindenwood in an elimination match at 9 a.m. tomorrow at the Skyhawk Beach Volleyball Complex. The winner will take on No. 1 seed Chattanooga at 12 p.m. for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

The day featured perfect 2-0 performances from UT Martin's No. 4 pairing (Andie Kryak/Amara Traiger) and No. 5 duo (Abby Freund/Kristin Phillips). The Skyhawks also added a win at No. 3 from Luli Arcucci/Lauren Mariscal against the Panthers while Kayla Bryant/Riley Rushing collected a victory at No. 1 against the Eagles. UT Martin's No. 2 tandem of Reagan McGee/Dylan Sulcer led in both of their matchups today but did not finish after the Skyhawks won via decision in each contest.

Against Eastern Illinois, Freund/Phillips got UT Martin on the scoreboard with a 21-15, 21-12 victory before Kryak/Traiger followed up with a 22-20, 24-22 triumph. Arcucci/Mariscal delivered the clinching point via a 21-18, 21-17 win – their 12th victory of the spring – before Bryant/Rushing (trailing by a slim 12-10 margin) and McGee/Sulcer (holding a 14-7 advantage) could even finish the first set of their respective bouts.

Kryak/Traiger came away with a 21-16, 21-13 win to open the Morehead State match, improving to a team-best 16-5 in the process. Freund/Phillips then pieced together a gutsy three-set triumph (21-17, 18-21, 16-14) to run their season record to 6-2 and complete the first wave. Bryant/Rushing claimed their sixth victory of the season with a 22-20, 21-16 decision while Arcucci/Mariscal (up 21-18, 18-16) and McGee/Sulcer (up 25-23, 15-14) were in line for potential wins as well.