UT Martin Puts Up A Fight But Falls In OVC Championship Finals; Four Skyhawks Named To All-Tournament Team

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Both matches in the Ohio Valley Conference Beach Volleyball Championship tournament came down to third-set tiebreakers in the final pairing as the University of Tennessee at Martin came out on top in the semifinals against Lindenwood before falling in a heartbreaker in the finals to Chattanooga.
              
The Skyhawks advanced to the OVC championship match for the fourth time in the five-year history of the event but their bid for a third tournament title came up just short by the slimmest of margins. Three of the decisions in the finals against Chattanooga went into tiebreaking third sets while four of the results in the semifinal round against Lindenwood went into extended third sets.
              
UT Martin’s No. 3 pairing of Lauren Mariscal/Jenna Vallée and No. 4 duo of Sydney Eckhardt/Reagan McGee each went 2-0 on the day, earning a spot on the OVC Championship All-Tournament Team. Both Skyhawk tandems went 3-1 in the tournament at their respective slots in the lineup.
 

Gallery: (4-26-2025) Beach VB at OVC Championship (Day 3)

In a rematch of the 2024 OVC semifinals, UT Martin avenged last season’s setback against the Lions (15-14). After the Skyhawks’ No. 5 pair of Kristin Phillips/Kylie Surratt barely fell by a 19-21, 21-15, 15-9 margin to start the match, UT Martin got on the scoreboard via a 21-14, 17-21, 15-12 win from Eckhardt/McGee. Lindenwood was able to win at No. 2 as Bryant/O’Keefe fell 21-18, 21-14 but the Skyhawks nabbed the remaining two points. Riley Rushing/Dylan Sulcer came through for a 21-16, 16-21, 15-8 triumph at No. 1 before Mariscal/Vallée sent UT Martin into the finals with a dramatic 21-15, 17-21, 17-15 victory.
              
The top-seeded Mocs (26-5) took the first point as Phillips/Surratt were defeated 21-13, 21-13 at No. 5. Eckhardt/McGee delivered a big 23-21, 21-14, 15-8 win to even the match at 1-all after the first wave. Bryant/O’Keefe fell 21-19, 21-11 at No. 2 but Mariscal/Vallée generated a clutch 24-22, 21-15 victory to event the match at 2-all. Rushing/Sulcer opened their No. 1 matchup with a 24-22 win but ultimately Chattanooga’s OVC Pair of the Year Neva Clark and Corina Vale came out on top with 21-15 and 15-9 victories to complete the comeback.
              
The Skyhawks conclude the season with a 24-10 record, recording the second-most single-season victories in the history of the program. Six different UT Martin representatives combined for seven OVC postseason awards while the Skyhawks boasted the OVC Pair of the Week four separate times in 2025.