By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – It was a tough first day of action for the Tennessee Tech beach volleyball team at the first Ohio Valley Conference weekend of the year, as the Golden Eagles fell in a pair of league tilts on Friday at the UTC Sports Complex.

The day opened with a 5-0 defeat at the hands of in-state rival UT Martin. In the No. 3 pairings, Brooke Amann and Aleeya Jones nearly picked up an opening set victory, but the Skyhawks edged the Golden Eagle duo, 22-20 before finishing things off with a 21-16 win in set two.

At the top in the No. 1 slot, UT Martin's Olivia O'Keefe and Jenna Vallee downed Tech's combo of Bella Powell and Madolyn Isringhausen in a pair of close battles. The Golden Eagle tandem fell 21-18 and 21-17 in the first match of the day.

There were a number of close calls for the purple and gold in its 4-1 loss to Lindenwood in the afternoon. McKenna Young and Ava Schubert teamed up in the No. 4 position and picked up the team's lone win of the day, topping the Lions in straight sets of 21-13 and 22-20.

Tech's No. 5 combo of Jazmine Yamailkoski and Katie DiRaimondo dropped a 22-20 heartbreaker to start the match before falling 21-16 in set two.

The Golden Eagles return to action Saturday morning, taking on Eastern Illinois in an 11:00 a.m. CT tilt. The weekend wraps up at 5:00 p.m. with a dual against host and in-state foe Chattanooga.

File photo by Jim Dillon