Tech tops Panthers, falls to Lindenwood to end run at OVC Championship

By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The 2025 season officially came to a close for the Tennessee Tech beach volleyball team on Friday at the Ohio Valley Conference Championship in Chattanooga, but not without a fight from the Cookeville crew. The No. 5 purple and gold split a pair of tilts at the UTC Beach Volleyball Courts, topping No. 6-seeded Eastern Illinois before falling in a rematch with No. 4 Lindenwood.

The Golden Eagles (5-19) opened the day with a decisive victory over the Panthers (1-12), controlling the tilt for a 3-1 win. In the duel with Eastern Illinois, three straight-set victories provided the necessary damage to stay alive in the league’s postseason event, with the unfinished pairing at No. 2 boasting a lead as well.

Leading the purple and gold to an early 1-0 lead, the No. 5 tandem of seniors Jazmine Yamilkoski and McKenna Young rolled to a pair of wins over EIU’s Lilli Amettis and Julia Udell. The Tech veterans opened things with a 21-12 triumph in set one before closing things out with a 21-16 decision in the second set.

The Panthers bounced back with a match-tying win out of the No. 4 slot with Kaitlyn Flynn and Ariadna Pereles, picking up wins of 21-14 and 21-16 over the Golden Eagle team of seniors Emma Pabon and Elena Wallace. Tech responded with another win in straight sets, this time behind the tenacity of the No. 3 spot.

Sophomore MK Roberts and senior Aleeya Jones teamed up to take down Eastern Illinois’ Tori Mohesky and Sylvia Hasz, edging the pair in a close battle in the opening set, 22-20. Roberts and Jones followed it by with a more decisive showing in set two, rocking a 21-17 victory for a 2-1 lead.

Closing out the key victory for the Cookeville crew, redshirt sophomore Jordan Karlen and senior Bella Powell joined forces at the No. 1 position for the clinching decision, topping the Panthers’ Catalina Rochaix and Destiny Walker. Tech’s top tandem turned in two titanic tallies in the win column, besting their EIU counterparts 21-13 and 21-12.

Not far from earning a win of their own, senior Brooke Amann and freshman Alayna Pierce controlled the battle at the No. 2 slot from the get-go. After claiming a 21-13 victory in the first set, the Tech partners ended the match unfinished with an 18-14 lead over EIU’s Laura Paniagua and Emma Schroeder.

For the second day in a row, the Golden Eagles found themselves squaring off with the Lions in an eventual 3-2 win by Lindenwood. The St. Charles, Mo. squad turned in a comeback win this time around, as Tech made it a roller-coaster affair.

Finishing first in the tilt, the Lions’ No. 4 team of Gabby Belcher and Aubrey Sheppard topped the Golden Eagles’ Emma Pabon and Elena Wallace in straight sets by scores of 21-14 and 21-8, giving Lindenwood a 1-0 lead.

Tech answered back with a gutsy victory in the No. 5 slot, as seniors Jazmine Yamilkoski and McKenna Young claimed a marathon of a first set, 25-23. The veterans of the Cookeville crew deadlocked the affair at 1-1, avenging a loss to Lindenwood’s Myah Hough and Sienna King with a 21-14 triumph in set two.

The purple and gold took their first lead of the duel behind a strong showing in straight sets by the No. 3 tandem of senior Aleeya Jones and sophomore MK Roberts. The Tech combo provided a 2-1 lead behind wins of 21-16 and 21-17 over the Lions’ Abby VanBuskirk and Taylor Gentemann.

Lindenwood’s Abby Jacobs and Annalie McWhorter forced another tie at 2-2 while representing the No. 1 spot, topping Tech redshirt sophomore Jordan Karlen and senior Bella Powell by scores of 21-13 and 21-19.

With the match on the line, it seemed only fitting that the decisive pairing at the No. 2 position would require all three sets. Golden Eagle senior Brooke Amann and freshman Alayna Pierce took control with a first-set triumph of 21-12, but the Lions’ Nyah Wilson and Katie Bockhorst responded with tight victories of 22-20 and 15-12 to secure the Lindenwood win.

Photo by Trevor Jolley