The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team fell to 2-16 and 1-2 in the Southern Conference Friday night with a 3-1 loss to Appalachian State at Maclellan Gym. The victory for the Mountaineers ties their SoCon record with the Mocs for seventh in the standings. App. State is now 10-7 overall with the win.
The match began with Chattanooga claiming the upper-hand. A tight first set with seven tied scores and five lead changes took the team to extra points to finish the leadoff frame. While Appalachian State dominated on offense with 18 kills – a match high for both teams – Chattanooga’s nine kills were able to outlast the Mountaineers’ barrage 27-25.
“It was a set we shouldn’t have won,” Head Coach Travis Filar said. “Appalachian State played great in the first set, but we were able to hang on and get the win. Our girls showed a lot of fight and resiliency. We came out with a lot of energy and earned that one.”
Leading 1-0 in the match, Chattanooga suffered a close 25-20 second-set loss in the following round. The set was tied a match-high 10 times and saw the lead change five times for the second frame in a row. The Mocs .093 hitting percentage led to the UTC downfall as the Mountaineers recorded 14 kills en route to tying the match 1-1 going into the locker room.
After the intermission, Appalachian State put up back-to-back set-wins to take the match 3-1. A 25-11 final in the third and a 25-15 victory in the fourth put the Mocs away as Chattanooga ran out of steam down the stretch.
Freshman Allie Davenport (Tyrone, Ga.) led the Mocs with seven kills and fellow freshman Kendall Sexton (Orlando, Fla.) followed up with six. Sexton was also tied for the team-lead in blocks with four along with sophomore Lauren Gainer (Boca Raton, Fla.). Both middle blockers totaled three assisted and one solo block.
Sophomore outside hitter Briana Reid (Houston, Texas) led the Chattanooga defense with 21 digs and junior libero Melissa Green (Boca Raton, Fla.) finished second with 20. Sophomore defensive specialist Catherine Chason (Alpharetta, Ga.) was Chattanooga’s assists leader with 12.
The Mocs are back in action Saturday afternoon as UTC hosts Western Carolina at 3 p.m.