A match that featured 19 ties and six lead changes with all four sets being decided by three points or less, the Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team suffered a 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 23-25, 25-22) loss to in-state foe MTSU on Wednesday night inside Maclellan Gymnasium.
The loss drops Chattanooga to 4-7 on the year ahead of this weekend’s matchups with the reigning ACC-champ Louisville and SEC-champ No. 20 Kentucky on Saturday and Sunday on the road. MTSU improves to 4-6 for the 2018 season.
The match against Middle Tennessee marked the final non-conference home match of the season.
UTC will open up Southern Conference play next weekend in Maclellan Gymnasium against Wofford and Furman.
Match recap can be found below.
MTSU 3, Chattanooga 1
A tight match from start to finish featured all four sets decided by three points or less. MTSU claimed the first two sets by 25-22 and 25-23 margins before UTC forced a fourth set with a 25-23 victory in the third. The Blue Raiders trailed the Mocs 20-16 in the fourth before scoring nine of the final 11 points to earn a 25-22 set win and a 3-1 win in the match.
Chattanooga out-scored MTSU in multiple statistical categories, but committed 27 attacking errors and was out-blocked 15.0 to 5.0 in the loss. UTC earned the edge in kills (56-49), hitting percentage (.182-.174), assists (53-45) and digs (76-67).
Four different Mocs recorded double-digit kills during the four set loss. Mikaela Gauthreaux totaled a career-high 15 kills at a .520 hitting percentage while Gylian Finch followed with 12 and Dani Szczpanski with 11. Emily Plumlee finished with 10 at a .500 clip. The four combined for a .391 hitting percentage.
Jaquelyn Langhaim dished out a career-high 49 assists and completed her fourth double-double of the season after posting 12 digs. Miranda Elpers chipped in with 11 digs while Bailey Clemons and Megan Kaufman added 10.