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The 2022 Ohio Valley Conference Beach Volleyball Championship gets underway on Thursday with four matches.
The second annual event is being held on the campus of Morehead State from April 28-30. Last year marked the inaugural championship with Austin Peay topping host UT Martin in the final to claim the title.
Note that Friday's schedule has changed to feature three matches (instead of two) with match times at 12, 2 and 4 p.m. ET.
Match 1: #4 Morehead State 4, #5 Eastern Illinois 1
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Match 2: #3 Chattanooga 3, #2 Austin Peay 2
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Match 3: #1 UT Martin 3, #4 Morehead State 2
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Match 4: #2 Austin Peay 5, #5 Eastern Illinois 0
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#4 MOREHEAD STATE 4, #5 EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Hosting the 2022 Ohio Valley Conference Beach Volleyball Championship, Morehead State rolled to a 4-1 victory over Eastern Illinois to start the day.
Against EIU, No. 1 pair Olivia Lohmeier and Allison Whitten prevailed 21-7, 21-5. The win marked Lohmeier's 50th career triumph, continuing to add to her program career total.
Nos. 3-5 also won. On court three, Anya Reinhard and Margaret Musselman outlasted their foes 21-13, 21-18. At No. 4, Trinity Miller and Abby Hulsman also won in straight sets 21-9, 21-13. At No. 5, Bridget Bessler and Raegan Alexander scored a 21-15, 21-18 victory.
At No. 2, Olivia Montelisciani and Bella Williams battled but fell 21-23, 21-19, 13-15.
#3 CHATTANOOGA 3, #2 AUSTIN PEAY 2
MOREHEAD, Ky. - After the first four matches were done in two sets, the top spot came down to the third set in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Beach Volleyball Championships on Thursday afternoon in Morehead, Ky. The third-seeded Mocs defeated No. 2 Austin Peay for the first time this season, 3-2, behind a 15-11 victory at the No. 1 pair.
The dual began with a Chattanooga straight-set win at No. 5 from Joy Courtright and Julia Davis, 21-19, 21-14. Austin Peay quickly evened things up with a straight set win of its own at No. 4, 21-15, 21-16.
Bailey Steger and Hanley Lomax put the Mocs within one match of clinching with a 21-13, 21-17 win at No. 3. After the Govs battled back in a second set at No. 2, they won that contest in straight sets, 21-18, 22-20 to tie the dual at two.
At the top spot, Baylee Young and Gylian Finch dropped the first set to the league's pair of the year, Marlayna Bullington and Kelsey Mead. In the second set, the UTC duo dominated, winning the frame 21-13, forcing a third and final set to decide the dual. In the third set, Finch and Young won 15-11, securing the first postseason win in program history for the Mocs.
#1 UT MARTIN 3, #4 MOREHEAD STATE 2
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Ohio Valley Conference co-regular season champion University of Tennessee at Martin beach volleyball team took a 2-0 lead in its postseason opener against Morehead State and never looked back, posting a 3-2 victory against the tournament hosts.
The No. 1 seed Skyhawks improved to 15-8 on the season thanks to victories out of the No. 3 through No. 5 positions in the lineup. Both of the first two matches went down to the wire in thrilling third sets but UT Martin came out on top in both results, taking a commanding 2-0 advantage.
At No. 5, Brooke Kuball/Addy Vaughn overcame an early deficit for an impressive 17-21, 22-20, 15-13 triumph, moving to 12-5 on the season while setting the tone for the day. A few minutes later, Kayla Carrell/Addison Conley broke through for a 21-19, 14-21, 24-22 victory – improving their record this spring to a remarkable 22-1.
The Eagles got on the scoreboard at No. 1 as the Skyhawk tandem of Karen Scanlon/Logan Wallick – teaming up together for the first time in 2022 – narrowly fell 24-22, 21-15.
UT Martin clinched the match soon thereafter, Kambree Lucas and Haeleigh Paulino posted their fourth win in five tries as a pair. They managed a 21-19, 21-19 triumph out of the No. 3 position.
The Skyhawks came close to nabbing a fourth point but the No. 2 tandem of Dylan Mott/Hannah Phillips – also joining forces for the first time this year – came up just short in a slim 21-11, 21-23, 15-12 setback.
#2 AUSTIN PEAY 5, #5 EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Governors claimed the first point of the match when Graham and Wheat won in two sets in the No. 5 pairing. Then it was Waite and Buggs winning in two sets on the No. 4 line while holding the Panthers to 13 points in the first set and just 12 in the second to take a 2-0 lead.
The match-clinching point came in the No. 3 pairing, with McInnis and Seyring winning in two sets and posting a dominant 21-6 win in the second set to secure the Governors spot in the next round. In the final two matches on the sand, Moore and Powell won handily in the No. 2 pairing before Bullington and Mead picked up a two-set win in the No. 1 pairing to secure the sweep.
