The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team (10-14, 4-5 SoCon) picked up its eighth home win of the 2012 season Saturday afternoon with a 3-1 win over Davidson (8-11, 4-5 SoCon) at Maclellan Gym to open up a two-match homestand.
The freshman trio of Briana Reid (Houston, Texas), Lauren Gainer (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Julimar Alvarado (San Juan, Puerto Rico) combined for 32 of the Mocs' 53 kills against the Wildcats. Reid led the team with 12 kills as Alvarado and Gainer each tallied 10 kills. Senior Christina Teter (Signal Mountain, Tenn.
) and freshman Sarah Batterton (Colbert, Wash.) followed closely behind with nine and eight, respectively.
Four Mocs registered double-digits in digs. Senior Paula Passmore (Merritt Island, Fla.) led UTC with 28, Reid finished with 12, freshman Catherine Chason (Alpharetta, Ga.) had 11, and junior setter Bridget Camacho (Cumming, Ga.) registered a double-double with 14 digs and 35 assists.
Chattanooga hit a match-best .333 in the first set, topping the Wildcats 25-18. Davidson was allowed to score back-to-back just three times during the set while Chattanooga amassed two four-point runs, and the second frame was much of the same.
The Mocs cut the second stanza a lot closer than the first, but were able to escape trouble with a 25-23 victory. UTC saw a three-point lead dwindle away near the end of the set as Davidson tied the game a 23-23. A kill from Gainer put the Mocs back on top and an attacking error from Davidson's Hannah Rau decided the set, sending Chattanooga to the locker room with a 2-0 advantage.
The Wildcats shocked the Mocs in the third set, however, taking a 25-21 decision over UTC. Chattanooga was held to a match-worst .056 in the game while Davidson hit .164 en route to the set win, but the Mocs battled back in the fourth set to take a 25-17 win in the frame and a 3-1 match win. An 18-16 advantage for UTC late in the match, Chattanooga went on a 7-1 rampage against the Wildcats to slam the door shut on the match.
"We brought a lot of intensity to the match," Head Coach Travis Filar said. "We knew Davidson was a good team and we had to come out firing. We saw what they are capable of during the third set, but we regrouped and finished strong. Our girls played as a team and we stayed in system very well."
Chattanooga wraps up the homestand tomorrow at 3 p.m. as it takes on the Georgia Southern Eagles for the "Dig Pink" match. Fans are encouraged to wear pink, and pink items (such as t-shirts and lanyards) will be given away during the match to support breast cancer awareness.