The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team hosts Mercer Friday at 6:00 p.m. (E.D.T.) in Maclellan Gym. UTC is 14-2, the best start in school history, and on a 10-match winning streak, the longest since 1999.
"Our student-athletes are continuing to see the fruits of their labor, especially for the seniors being our staff's first full recruiting class," stated head coach Travis Filar. "They've given so much since they stepped foot on campus as freshmen to now having a senior year where they'll be in the history books, I'm so happy for them."
Chattanooga improved to 3-0 in Southern Conference play after a 3-1 win over UNCG and sweeps against Western Carolina and Wofford.
It leads the league in assists per set (13.4), digs per set (17.4) and kills per set (14.1).
Two Mocs earned SoCon weekly honors for Sept. 21-27. Senior libero Catherine Chason (Alpharetta, Ga.) was named the Defensive Player of the Week, while junior outside hitter Allie Davenport (Tyrone, Ga.) won the offensive award. Chason posted 37 digs against the Spartans, the most in a match by any SoCon player on the year and tied nationally for the most in a four-set match this season. Davenport recorded a season-best 17 kills and no attack errors when facing UNCG.
UTC and the Bears have three common opponents, Kennesaw State, Stetson and Troy. Mercer dropped matches to the Owls 3-0, the Hatters 3-2 and the Trojans 3-1. Chattanooga posted three-set wins against Kennesaw State and Stetson and a 3-1 victory over Troy.
"Mercer is a team that works really hard," Filar said. "They fight for the entirety of a match. You can't take a break, or they'll make you pay for it."
The Bears are 5-9 and 1-2 in conference matchups, including losses to Samford (3-1) and Furman (3-0) and a sweep over The Citadel. On Sept. 22, Mercer became the first SoCon team to put up double-digit aces in multiple matches this season.
"As opposed to being focused on their serving, we're more focused on our side and our passing," explained Filar.
Junior libero Tori Penrod leads the league with an average of 0.54 aces per set, ranking her seventh nationally. She is also second in the conference and 54th nationally with 4.74 digs per set. Sophomore outside hitter Morgan MacGilvary has put up a team-high 134 kills, averaging 2.63 a set.
Live stats and video links can be found on the volleyball schedule page at GoMocs.com.
The Mocs make a road trip to South Carolina for two SoCon matches next weekend facing Furman Oct. 9 at 6:00 p.m. in Greenville, S.C., and The Citadel Oct. 10 at Noon in Charleston, S.C.