CULLOWHEE, N.C. --- The No. 6 seeded Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team’s valiant comeback effort fell short in a 3-1 (25-16, 25-22, 23-25, 25-16) loss to No. 3 UNCG during the quarterfinal round of the Southern Conference Championships. The loss concludes the season for UTC.
Chattanooga finishes with a 13-18 overall record for the season.
UNCG improves to 19-10 overall and advances to face No. 2 ETSU in the semifinal round
tomorrow in Cullowhee.
UNCG claimed the opening two sets by jumping out to early leads in each of the sets, 7-0 in the first and 8-0 in the second. Chattanooga rallied from a 14-8 deficit to earn a 25-23 set win in the third and forced a fourth set. The Spartans closed out the match with a 25-16 set win.
The Mocs were out-hit .142 to .049 and out-killed 54-41 over the four sets. UNCG also won the digging battle 98-85 but allowed UTC to control the net with an 11.0 to 8.0 blocks advantage.
Miranda Elpers led the way for the Mocs with 11 kills at a .243 hitting percentage while completing the double-double with a team-high 21 digs. Lauren Greenspoon dished out 19 assists while posting 14 digs. Madison Bergren added 12 assists in the defeat.
Defensively, Dani Szczepanski posted a match-high 7.0 total blocks while Mikaela Gauthreaux added 5.0 blocks. Megan Kaufman chipped in with 15 digs as the starting libero.
UNCG 3, Chattanooga 1
1st Set | UNCG 25, UTC 16
UNCG jumped out of the gates strong, claiming the match’s first seven points to force the Mocs into an early timeout. Chattanooga battled back to cut the deficit to 9-5 before UNCG pulled back to a seven-point lead at 14-7. They would keep that pace down the stretch until pulling away for a 25-16 set win and a 1-0 lead in the match.
2nd Set | UNCG 25, UTC 22
Much like the first set, UNCG built up a sizeable lead to begin the set, 8-0, forcing Chattanooga into a timeout. The Mocs responded with a 7-1 run to pull within two at 9-7. UTC took the lead for the first time in the set at 15-14 before UNCG tied the set down the stretch on multiple occasions. With a tied 21-21 scored, the Spartans closed the set by scoring four of the final five points to claim a 25-22 set win and push their lead to 2-0.
3rd Set | UTC 25, UNCG 23
Both teams traded the first ten points of the third set as they played to a 5-5 tie. UNCG went on a quick 7-2 run to build a 12-7 lead over the Mocs before Chattanooga rallied to pull within one at 19-18. UTC regained the lead at 23-22 after an attack error from the Spartans and closed out the set, 25-23, on a double contact call on the opposition.
4th Set | UNCG 25, UTC 16
UNCG grabbed a 4-0 lead to begin the fourth set and later pushed that lead to seven points at 13-6 behind an 8-3 run. The closest the Mocs got down the stretch was four points at 17-13. UNCG closed out the set and the match on an 8-3 run, claiming a 25-16 set win and a 3-1 match win to advance to the SoCon semifinals.