NASHVILLE - Down 2-1 in the match, the UTC volleyball team came back to record its first victory of the season over Belmont, 3-2 (27-25, 18-25, 20-25, 27-25, 15-12), on Tuesday night at the Curb Events Center. The Lady Mocs sent the match to a final frame after taking the fourth set and used a kill from freshman outside hitter Jennifer Kuroski (Acworth, Ga.) to seal the 15-13 win.

“It was an awesome win for the team,” said head coach Lisa Rhodes. “We are excited to beat a good team on the road, and I liked the way we ended the match as Jennifer kuroski had a hard, clean, on the line kill. It was nice to get that 15th point not from a mistake they made, but something positive that we did.”

The comeback was assisted by the strong back row play of freshman Andrea Johnson (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.), who recorded seven digs and provided a challenging service for Belmont (3-5), resulting in a season-high two aces.

A pair of double-doubles was recorded as senior right side Jessica Scott (Lawrence, Kan.) tallied 13 kills and digs along with a career-high six assists, while fellow classmate Bailee Chastain (Chattanooga, Tenn.) notched her third of the season with 38 assists and 11 digs.

"I think Bailee (Chastain) did a fantastic job," said Rhodes. "I saw a lot of senior leadership on the court with Jess (Scott), Bailee and Courtney (Barnes) stepping up and demanding that all the players pull together to get this win.”

Sophomore libero Paula Passmore (Merritt Island, Fla.) registered a career-high 34 digs keeping numerous rallies alive for the Lady Mocs.

Season-highs were also set during the match as Kuroski recorded 14 kills, while senior middle blocker Courtney Barnes (Franklin, Tenn.) matched hers with 14, also. Sophomore Christina Teter (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) recorded a career-high four kills from the right side.

Even though Belmont compiled a .267 hitting percentage and 69 kills, the Lady Mocs were able to capitalize on mistakes, 49 of them in fact between attacking and service errors. By comparison, Chattanooga totaled 59 kills, but also dug up a season high 91 attacks from the Bruins.

Throughout the match, the teams totaled 32 ties and 12 lead changes as every game proved to be important.

In the first set, the Lady Mocs and Bruins stayed within two points of each other until a kill from sophomore Ellie Kuhn (San Antonio, Texas) gave UTC a 15-12 advantage. Chattanooga kept that three-point lead at 20-17 following a service mistake from Belmont.

After a timeout, the Bruins won three-consecutive rallies knotting the score at 20-all. Eventually after trading points, Chattanooga recorded the set victory at 27-25 after two-consecutive attack errors from the Bruins. The Lady Mocs were out-hit by the Bruins, who totaled 17 kills and hit .323, but they capitalized on eight mistakes from the service line.

Belmont took a 4-1 lead to start the third set, but the Lady Mocs came back to tie it up at seven-all with back-to-back-to-back kills from Kuhn, Scott and Kuroski. At 9-8, Chattanooga took its first lead of the set following a Chastain kill.

The Bruins took control by scoring on six-straight rallies, 15-10, recording two aces and three kills. They went on to tie the match up cruising to a 25-18 win. The difference in the set was that the Bruins registered six of their eight aces in the match.

After the intermission, Belmont opened up with a 8-5 lead. The teams battled back and forth with the lead never surpassing three until Chattanooga scored on five-straight rallies in taking a 18-16 advantage highlighted by kills from Kuroski (2) and Barnes along with a block assist by Kuroski and Kuhn. Belmont continued the pressure in a six-point run of its own to close out the set, 25-20, and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Starting the fourth set, Belmont was strong in taking a 7-2 advantage, but the Lady Mocs would not be denied as they tied the match at 11-all. Then, Belmont rattled off two quick points leading to a UTC timeout.

Chattanooga cut the lead to 16-15, but three-straight points from the Bruins seemed to give them control. The Lady Mocs did not back down, however, as kills from Barnes (2) and Beasley capped a five-point run giving them the first lead of the set at 22-21.

Coming down to the end of the frame, the teams traded points and a kill by Kuroski knotted the score at 24-all. Closing out the set and tying up the match was Chattanooga with a 27-25 victory after scoring the final two points on Belmont mistakes. The Lady Mocs registered 15 kills during the set and both teams had five errors apiece.

"The fourth set was huge," said Rhodes. "We did that behind Andrea’s serving again. It was really impressive. I think our passing kind of shutdown earlier, but I think we picked it back up in that set."

In the fifth set, Chattanooga began on the offensive generating kills from Kuroski and Chastian in taking a 3-1 lead and increased it to 8-5 before the teams swapped sides. The Bruins knotted the match at eight after recording two kills before the Lady Mocs called time.

After falling behind at 10-9, Barnes and Parman each knotted the score at 10 and 11, respectively, with kills. Chattanooga scored on the next two rallies in taking a 13-11 lead on a kill by Barnes. Chastain registered a kill and provided the Lady Mocs with match-point at 14-12. Kuroski finished off the Bruins with a hard kill just inside the line giving Chattanooga its first win of the season.

Chattanooga returns to action on Friday at the North Florida Invitational with a battle against the hosts at 11 a.m. followed by Illinois-Chicago at 5 p.m. The two-day event concludes as the Lady Mocs face off with Charleston Southern and Troy.

The first home match at Maclellan Gym for Chattanooga is Sept. 17, a rematch of tonight's contest against Belmont at the Country Inns & Suites Invitational. The Lady Mocs also welcome UCF and James Madison the following day with a doubleheader beginning at 11:30 a.m.