MOREHEAD, Ky. - Lindenwood beach volleyball (16-10) ends their championship run at the Ohio Valley Conference Beach Volleyball Championship with a 3-0 loss to #2 Chattanooga in the final match. The Lions end their season with 16 wins, their most in program history and become the first Lindenwood team in an OVC sanctioned sport to reach a championship game.
"I cannot say enough about the determination and grit of this team," said interim head coach Tyler Fenton on his team's performance. "The trust they put in each other, coaches and support staff led to this historic run. I want to thank and applaud the senior class that led this program to a championship final finish in two years."
All together, the Lions played six matches in the span of three days, winning four of them on their way to the championship match. Three of those wins came in the single loss bracket where they defeated UT Martin in the semifinal match.
MATCH ONE
#3 Lindenwood - 3
#1 UT Martin - 2
Lindenwood took down the number one seeded Skyhawks of UT Martin in the semifinals match on Saturday to get the the OVC Championship duel. It marked the first ever win against UT Martin in program history.
Both teams were able to get a point during the four and five pairs as
Abby VanBuskirk and
Kailee McGee picked up the point in the four pair with scores of 21-18 and 21-19 over UTM's Kristin Phillips and Haeleigh Paulino.
Amber Schade and
Elise Llorens suffered a two set loss in the five pair by scores of 15-21 and 10-21.
Nyah Wilson and
Maider Soto captured the second point in the match for the Lions with a two set victory over Jenna Vallee and Olivia O'Keefe by scores of 21-13 and 21-12.
Katie Malzahn and
Abby Jacobs fell at the number two pair with scores of 8-21 and 9-21.
For the second straight day, the match came down to the threes pair of
Jessie Seidel and
Annalie McWhorter and for the second straight day they delivered a win for the Lions. Seidel and McWhorter took down Ryan Rednour and Addy Vaughn in three sets by scores of 13-21, 21-19 and 15-12.
MATCH TWO
#3 Lindenwood - 0
#2 Chattanooga - 3
Lindenwood's second season of beach volleyball came to a close on Saturday during the OVC Championship match with a 3-0 loss to #2 Chattanooga. The Lions battled in all five pairs before dropping the duel.
Schade and Llorens came out and fought hard in their final match of the season at the five spot with a three set loss. The duo won the first set by a score of 21-19 before eventually losing the final two by scores of 21-10 and 15-10.
VanBuskirk and McGee also lost at the fours with scores of 21-10 and 21-7 against Kaye Greshman and Paige Gallentine. The match ended with the two pair of Malzahn and Jacobs as they fell 21-15 and 21-13.
Wilson/Soto and Seidel/McWhorter were named the the OVC All-Tournament team for their performances throughout the tournament.
