The Chattanooga Beach Volleyball team lost to top-ranked Stanford on May 1 in the opening round of the National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship. The match, held in Gulf Shores, Alabama, ended with a 3-0 victory for Stanford.
This matchup was significant as Chattanooga entered the tournament as the No. 16 seed and faced a strong opponent on a nationally televised stage. The team played several close sets against Stanford, particularly in the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 pairs.
Chattanooga finished its season with a record of 24-5, marking the second most wins in program history. The Sandy Mocs remain winless at 0-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. Meanwhile, Stanford improved to a record of 37-4 and advanced to face California in the quarterfinals.
Stanford secured its first point on Court 5 when Elena Fisher and Chloe Hoffman won their match by scores of 21-8 and 21-8. Shortly after, Indigo Clark and Clara Stowell extended Stanford’s lead by winning their match with scores of 21-16 and 21-12 after coming from behind late in the first set. Charlotta Bell and Logan Tusher clinched victory for Stanford on Court 3 with scores of 21-13 and 21-11.
Reflecting on his team’s performance, Head Coach Darin Van Horn said: “I think overall we had a little bit of a slow start, which was a little surprising. However, Clark and McKenny were big, starting strong, and they got to the tech timeout at 12-9. You know, I mentioned, obviously, the fight of our ones and twos taking it to 18-18 and 17-15 in the second sets, like just to see them not back down going into that second set and getting after it was great. I think it’s just shows what this team’s about… they’re never going to quit… In this opportunity we just go give them everything we have and see what happens.”
