PHOTO GALLERY
DAY ONE SCORES
#3 UT Martin 3, #6 Eastern Kentucky 0
#4 Austin Peay 3, #5 Jacksonville State 2
#3 UT Martin 3, #2 Chattanooga 0
#1 Morehead State vs. #4 Jacksonville State
UT MARTIN 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin beach volleyball team made short work of the opposition today, breezing past Eastern Kentucky and Chattanooga to begin the inaugural Ohio Valley Conference Championship.
Seeded third in the event, the Skyhawks did not drop a single matchup today in sweeps of No. 6 Eastern Kentucky and No. 2 Chattanooga. UT Martin will play for a spot on the OVC Championship finals tomorrow at 2 p.m. against No. 4 seed Austin Peay at the Skyhawk Beach Volleyball Complex.
Because of inclement weather on Thursday morning, each match today was played to decision in order to complete Day 1 of the three-day tournament. As a result, the same three UT Martin pairs went 2-0 today, as Baillie Kearns/Kambree Lucas (No. 5), Addison Conley/Jessica Reynolds (No. 4) and Haeleigh Paulino/Logan Wallick (No. 3) went undefeated.
In the first round against Eastern Kentucky, Conley and Reynolds got things started with a 21-17, 21-14 victory over Josie Schmitendorf and Mikayla Logan. Kearns and Lucas posted a 21-17, 21-14 triumph over Molly Roeder and Alexis Falcone before the match was clinched via a Paulino/Wallick 21-17, 21-16 win over Raegan Alexander/Molly Michalak.
Kayla Carrell and Karen Scanlon were on the verge of a victory at No. 2 (up 21-15, 20-12) before the match was truncated. At No. 1, Lucy Kaufman and Hannah Phillips were ahead by a 21-13, 18-8 margin when the match was called.
Facing Chattanooga in the quarterfinals, Kearns and Lucas collected a 21-15, 21-19 win over Madelina Myers-Osband/Makenzie Jordan. The Skyhawks extended their advantage out to 2-0 following a gritty 21-12, 16-21, 15-12 victory by Conley and Reynolds against Hanley Lomax/Abby Ashway. Paulino and Wallick then ran their season record out to 14-0 after a 21-18, 21-17 win over Victoria Cerino/Paige Gallentine.
Carrell and Scanlon won their opening set at No. 2 (21-11) and led 11-9 at the time of the clincher. Kaufman and Phillips were still embroiled in a battle in the first set at No. 1.
AUSTIN PEAY 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 2
MARTIN, Tenn.- The Jacksonville State beach volleyball team came up short in it first-ever postseason dual, falling 3-2 to Austin Peay in the opening round of the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference tournament.
In the rain, JSU's fourth pairing with sophomore Peyton Pauze and freshman Macie Garrison swept the Govs, 2-0 (21-17, 22-20), for JSU's first point of the day. The duo started the spring 1-3 together after JSU's first weekend at home, but finished 4-2 down the stretch and secured their sixth win of the year in Thursday's first round. They become just the sixth Gamecock team to win six matches in a single season, along with teammates Erin Carmichael and Lena Kinderman this season.
After seniors Bethany Randall and Grace Jarnagin dropped close 21-16 and 21-18 decisions on court five, the dual went to the top three courts even at 1-1. JSU lost the second pairing as Courtney Glotzbach and Katie Montgomery fell in two sets with Montgomery filling in for regular starter Bailey Nelson, who missed due to injury.
Down 2-1, Kindermann and Carmichael brought JSU back to an even dual score with a court three sweep (21-19, 21-18). The tandem have been the hottest for Jax State this season, now with a 7-4 record across courts three and four. The seven wins matches a single-season high for a pair in JSU's history. Kindermann was part of one of the previous two occasions, alongside former partner Maddie Cloutier in 2019. Former Gamecocks Katie Will and Jae-Lyn Visscher also won seven in 2017. With the Gamecocks guaranteed at least one more match on Friday, the duo could potentially take sole possession of that mark.
Following the win on court three, all eyes turned to the top flight with senior Kaylie Milton and sophomore Kylee Quigley. JSU and APSU went back-and-forth throughout the match, with the Govs gaining a few extra bounces both times for tight 21-19 and 21-18 wins to take the match and clinch the dual.
UT MARTIN 3, CHATTANOOGA 0
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin beach volleyball team made short work of the opposition today, breezing past Eastern Kentucky and Chattanooga to begin the inaugural Ohio Valley Conference Championship.
Seeded third in the event, the Skyhawks did not drop a single matchup today in sweeps of No. 6 Eastern Kentucky and No. 2 Chattanooga. UT Martin will play for a spot on the OVC Championship finals tomorrow at 2 p.m. against No. 4 seed Austin Peay at the Skyhawk Beach Volleyball Complex.
Because of inclement weather on Thursday morning, each match today was played to decision in order to complete Day 1 of the three-day tournament. As a result, the same three UT Martin pairs went 2-0 today, as Baillie Kearns/Kambree Lucas (No. 5), Addison Conley/Jessica Reynolds (No. 4) and Haeleigh Paulino/Logan Wallick (No. 3) went undefeated.
In the first round against Eastern Kentucky, Conley and Reynolds got things started with a 21-17, 21-14 victory over Josie Schmitendorf and Mikayla Logan. Kearns and Lucas posted a 21-17, 21-14 triumph over Molly Roeder and Alexis Falcone before the match was clinched via a Paulino/Wallick 21-17, 21-16 win over Raegan Alexander/Molly Michalak.
Kayla Carrell and Karen Scanlon were on the verge of a victory at No. 2 (up 21-15, 20-12) before the match was truncated. At No. 1, Lucy Kaufman and Hannah Phillips were ahead by a 21-13, 18-8 margin when the match was called.
Facing Chattanooga in the quarterfinals, Kearns and Lucas collected a 21-15, 21-19 win over Madelina Myers-Osband/Makenzie Jordan. The Skyhawks extended their advantage out to 2-0 following a gritty 21-12, 16-21, 15-12 victory by Conley and Reynolds against Hanley Lomax/Abby Ashway. Paulino and Wallick then ran their season record out to 14-0 after a 21-18, 21-17 win over Victoria Cerino/Paige Gallentine.
Carrell and Scanlon won their opening set at No. 2 (21-11) and led 11-9 at the time of the clincher. Kaufman and Phillips were still embroiled in a battle in the first set at No. 1.
AUSTIN PEAY 3, MOREHEAD STATE 2
MARTIN, Tenn. - Playing in the first ever Ohio Valley Conference Beach Volleyball Championship, Austin Peay State University beach volleyball beat No. 5 seed Jacksonville State, 3-2, in the first round before upsetting top-seeded Morehead State, 3-2, in the quarterfinals, Thursday, at the Skyhawk Beach Volleyball Complex.
The No. 4 seeded Governors are now set to square off with No. 3 seed UT Martin in a 2 p.m., Friday, semifinal match at the inaugural OVC Beach Volleyball Tournament. The winner of the match between the Govs and Skyhawks will secure a spot in the OVC Beach Volleyball Championship match at noon, Saturday; while the loser will play at 10 a.m., Saturday for a chance to make it to the title match.
In the opening match against Jacksonville State, the duo of MiMi Arrington and Claire Darland staked the Govs to a 1-0 lead with a two-set win in the No. 5 pairing. But the Gamecocks had an answer and tied the match, 1-1, with a win in the No. 4 pairing. In the No. 2 pairing, First Team All-OVC duo Jenna Panning and Brooke Moore put together a dominate performance, winning 21-8 and 21-7, to give the Governors a 2-1 advantage.
With just two matches still playing, Jacksonville State was able to once again tie the match with a win in the No. 3 pairing. In the final match left on the sand, Second Team All-OVC duo Marlayna Bullington and Aysha Hood picked up a match-clinching win in the No. 1 pairing to secure the Governors spot in the semifinals against top-seeded Morehead State.
Hours after beating Jacksonville State, the Govs were back in action against Morehead State and the Eagles jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a win in the No. 5 pairing. The No. 4 pairing was the next on the board and the duo of Caroline Waite and Erin Eisenhart picked up a dramatic win in the No. 4 pairing after trailing 8-4 to start the third set of the match.
With the match tied, Kelsey Mead and Tegan Seyring picked up their fourth win of the season and gave the Govs a 2-1 advantage when they beat the Eagles in the No. 3 pairing. However, Morehead State was able to tie the match when OVC Pair of the Year Hannah Keating and Allison Whitten knocked off Bullington and Hood in the No. 1 pairing.
With just one match left on the sand and everyone gathered around to watch, Panning and Moore dropped the first set of the No. 2 pairing to First-Team All-OVC pairing Olivia Lohmeier and Trinity Miller. But the Govs' winningest duo bounced back to win the second set, 21-18, and force a decisive third set in the final match of the first day of the OVC Tournament.
After falling behind 13-7 to start the third set, Panning and Moore went on a fortune-turning 8-0 run to come back and beat the Eagles, 15-13, securing a 3-2 win for the Governors.