The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball defeated Stetson 3-0 Friday night to open the Scenic City Showdown tournament at Maclellan Gym, improving to 6-7 on the season. Freshman Eden Murray (Hoschton, Ga.) earned her first career start and led UTC to the win with six kills and five blocks.
“This was a great win for our team,” Head Coach Travis Filar said. “We open the tournament on the right foot, and Eden had a great night. Sometimes freshmen are a little timid making their first start, but she played confidently and looked good out there.”
Murray tied for the team lead in blocks with junior Lauren Gainer (Boca Raton, Fla.), and sophomore Allie Davenport (Tyrone, Ga.) led the Mocs with nine kills.
Defensively, both sophomore Kristy Wieser (Lincoln, Neb.) and libero Catherine Chason (Alpharetta, Ga.) totaled 12 digs. Sophomore Anne Bachmann (Lincoln, Neb.) collected a team-best 18 assists at setter.
Chattanooga’s first set saw the Hatter hit -.027, winning the frame 25-15. The 10-point win came with the Mocs jumping out to a 2-0 lead and never letting it slip. Chattanooga pieced together pieced together nine multi-point runs, including a four-point rally with Chason back to serve – including one ace from the junior.
The Mocs were most effective on the attack in the second stanza, hitting .438 against Stetson. A tighter set, with the lead changing three times and the score tied 13 times, the Hatters took the first point. Near the half-way point, the teams were knotted at nine-all courtesy of a five-point rally from the visitors. UTC then went on a run of its own, taking the next seven of 11 scores following a timeout to claim an 18-17 advantage. Gainer nailed down the contest with a set-point kills on a serve from Stetson’s McKenna Foster.
Once again, the Chattanooga defense stayed strong in the final frame to hold the Hatters to a .000 hitting percentage. With Stetson taking the lead only once, the Mocs claimed the final game of the matchup 25-18 to insure its third home win.
In other action, UT Martin defeated South Carolina State 3-1 in the Showdown’s 3 p.m. match.
All four teams are back in action Saturday as Stetson and UT Martin square off at 10 a.m. The Mocs host South Carolina State at 12:30 p.m., and SCSU takes on Stetson at 4:30 p.m. UTC faces UT Martin in the tournament’s finale at 7 p.m.