2023 Tennessee Tech Beach Volleyball Schedule
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The first-ever Tennessee Tech beach volleyball season is just over two months away, as head coach Zach Weinberg announced the 2023 schedule for the Golden Eagles Thursday afternoon.
"[Assistant coach] Haley [DeSales] and I are excited about the inaugural schedule that we have put together," Weinberg expressed. "We'll have the chance to cut our teeth competitively against some other newer programs prior to getting into OVC play, where we know every dual will be a battle. I'm also incredibly excited that we are able to host a home dual against Morehead State, and I look forward to seeing the Cookeville and Tech community supporting us in our first-ever home competition. As a team, we're looking forward to learning and growing through this new beach volleyball venture together, and I feel this schedule will allow us to do just that."
The inaugural campaign for the purple and gold will feature a trio of tournament-style weekends, as well as a pair of doubleheaders, all in preparation for the Ohio Valley Conference Championships to wrap up the first season of beach volleyball in Tech history.
The first match for the beach crew will take place on Friday, Feb. 24 in Mount Berry, Ga. as part of a tournament hosted by Berry College. Tech will square off with Spartanburg Methodist to officially make history. Later in the day, the purple and gold will take on in-state foe Carson-Newman.
Saturday, Feb. 25 features two more matches for the Golden Eagles, including bouts with host Berry College and Bob Jones University.
After getting its feet wet in Georgia, Tech will move right into league action with the first of two OVC weekends that feature match-ups with four other conference foes, competing Friday, Mar. 24 through Saturday, Mar. 25. Heading south to Chattanooga, the Golden Eagles will take on not only the host Mocs (an affiliate member of the OVC for beach volleyball), but also Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood, and UT Martin.
Moving back to some non-conference action, the purple and gold will visit Carson-Newman for a doubleheader in Jefferson City, Tenn. on Wednesday, Mar. 29.
Tech will then host its inaugural home matches on Saturday, Apr. 1, taking on OVC rival Morehead State with a doubleheader in Cookeville. Both matches count towards league standings and represent the only regular-season meetings between the two programs as designed by the OVC.
The regular season comes to a close with the conference's second OVC weekend of action, this one hosted in Morehead, Ky. While the Golden Eagles won't square off with the host Eagles, the purple and gold will take on Chattanooga, Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood, and UT Martin during the weekend of competition.
More information on times and match-ups for the two OVC weekends will be made available at a later date.
Rounding out Tech's inaugural campaign is the OVC Beach Volleyball Championship Tournament, hosted by defending league champion UT Martin in Martin, Tenn. Scheduled of Apr. 27-29, the event will feature double-elimination action up to a winner take all championship match on Saturday, Apr. 29.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
