Rushing And McGee Earn Bid To Upcoming AVCA Fall Collegiate Beach Volleyball National Championships
10/18/2025 4:46:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
MARTIN, Tenn. – Courtesy of a deep run in this weekend's American Volleyball Coaches Association Central Qualifier and Midwest Open, University of Tennessee at Martin teammates Riley Rushing and Reagan McGee officially punched their tickets to the AVCA Fall Collegiate Beach Volleyball National Championships.
Rushing and McGee went undefeated (3-0) yesterday at the qualifying tournament, which was held in Ozark, Mo. and hosted by Missouri State and Central Arkansas. Rushing and McGee swept Southwest Baptist's Reagan Hoerning/Bre Perez (21-15, 21-14) and followed that with another sweep (21-15, 21-17) against Houston Christian's Grace Melnick/Paige Palmer. The Skyhawk tandem then defeated Missouri State's Rylie Cepicky/Ally Larkin by a 2-1 margin (21-15, 18-21, 15-12) to advance to today's originally scheduled championship matchup against Houston Christian's Alexa Landmark/Olivia Zeigler but the finals round was cancelled due to weather.
By virtue of Rushing and McGee's automatic bid and the fact that UT Martin finished in the top-two of the Ohio Valley Conference last spring, the Skyhawks will have four total representatives (two pairs) competing at the 2025 AVCA Fall Collegiate Beach Volleyball National Championship event, held on Nov. 7-9 in Huntsville, Ala. This will mark the first time in program history that UT Martin will have multiple pair representatives in the prestigious event, which is in its fourth year.
The duo of Rushing and McGee helped the Skyhawks post a 24-10 overall record in 2025, including a 7-3 mark in league play under head coach Jaclynn Wilson. UT Martin won 20 of its final 25 contests – including a 10-match winning streak from April 9 through April 24 – and narrowly fell by a 3-2 margin in the OVC Championship finals against host school Chattanooga.
Rushing is set to compete in next month's AVCA Fall Collegiate Beach Volleyball National Championship tournament for the second time in as many years. The rising senior from Snowmass Village, Colo. posted a 16-16 overall record last season after transferring from Tusculum. Rushing occupied the top two spots in the UT Martin lineup in all 34 matches last season and had a five-match winning streak from March 14 through March 21.
Hailing from Norfolk, Va., McGee is a two-time All-OVC and two-time AVCA Top Flight Award winner. The rising junior also nabbed OVC Championship All-Tournament accolades a year ago after going 25-9, upping her two-year career record to 45-20 with 18 triumphs in 19 tries against OVC foes. She won 25 of her final 29 decisions, including a stretch from March 7 through March 29 where she reeled off 14 consecutive victories.
Rushing and McGee went undefeated (3-0) yesterday at the qualifying tournament, which was held in Ozark, Mo. and hosted by Missouri State and Central Arkansas. Rushing and McGee swept Southwest Baptist's Reagan Hoerning/Bre Perez (21-15, 21-14) and followed that with another sweep (21-15, 21-17) against Houston Christian's Grace Melnick/Paige Palmer. The Skyhawk tandem then defeated Missouri State's Rylie Cepicky/Ally Larkin by a 2-1 margin (21-15, 18-21, 15-12) to advance to today's originally scheduled championship matchup against Houston Christian's Alexa Landmark/Olivia Zeigler but the finals round was cancelled due to weather.
By virtue of Rushing and McGee's automatic bid and the fact that UT Martin finished in the top-two of the Ohio Valley Conference last spring, the Skyhawks will have four total representatives (two pairs) competing at the 2025 AVCA Fall Collegiate Beach Volleyball National Championship event, held on Nov. 7-9 in Huntsville, Ala. This will mark the first time in program history that UT Martin will have multiple pair representatives in the prestigious event, which is in its fourth year.
The duo of Rushing and McGee helped the Skyhawks post a 24-10 overall record in 2025, including a 7-3 mark in league play under head coach Jaclynn Wilson. UT Martin won 20 of its final 25 contests – including a 10-match winning streak from April 9 through April 24 – and narrowly fell by a 3-2 margin in the OVC Championship finals against host school Chattanooga.
Rushing is set to compete in next month's AVCA Fall Collegiate Beach Volleyball National Championship tournament for the second time in as many years. The rising senior from Snowmass Village, Colo. posted a 16-16 overall record last season after transferring from Tusculum. Rushing occupied the top two spots in the UT Martin lineup in all 34 matches last season and had a five-match winning streak from March 14 through March 21.
Hailing from Norfolk, Va., McGee is a two-time All-OVC and two-time AVCA Top Flight Award winner. The rising junior also nabbed OVC Championship All-Tournament accolades a year ago after going 25-9, upping her two-year career record to 45-20 with 18 triumphs in 19 tries against OVC foes. She won 25 of her final 29 decisions, including a stretch from March 7 through March 29 where she reeled off 14 consecutive victories.
Players Mentioned
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