Corina Vale joined the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga beach volleyball program in the fall of 2023, looked around and immediately realized she wanted to be challenged by the best.
So she gravitated toward the upperclassmen, led by Neva Clark, who was voted the Ohio Valley Conference player of the year the previous season. Vale’s bond with Clark led to their pairing at the No. 1 spot for the Mocs, a partnership now in its second season.
And after a slow start in 2024, it’s been an overwhelming success as Clark and Vale have won 38 of their past 49 matches, including a 22-6 mark this year for the Sandy Mocs. Vale was the OVC freshman of the year last season, and when this season’s league honors were announced Wednesday, Clark was named player of the year for the third consecutive season and Clark and Vale repeated as pair of the year.
“I wasn’t sure how it was going to unfold,” UTC coach Darin Van Horn said of the initial pairing of Clark and Vale. “Neva can be kind of an intense player when she’s competing, but Corina loved that about her and loved the communication style that Neva had.
“Even when I recruited Corina, I didn’t foresee her being in the (No. 1) spot right off the bat, but I think she developed and kind of latched herself to Neva and understood the work ethic and the extra time put in to develop and get better.”