posted October 2, 2008
After spending almost an entire month on the road, the Chattanooga volleyball team returns home for a five game home stand beginning Friday night against Appalachian State. The Lady Mocs will wrap up the weekend on Saturday versus Western Carolina at 2 p.m.
“We are glad to be back home to play in front of our fans,” Head Coach Lisa Rhodes said. “It will be nice to see how we play on our home court and since we are playing two teams from our division, these will be very important matches for us.”
The Lady Mocs (6-10, 1-1 SoCon) are coming off a weekend where UTC split two games against Georgia Southern and Davidson. The Lady Mocs knocked off Georgia Southern 3-1 last Saturday before falling to Davidson, 3-2, on Sunday.
So far in 2008 Chattanooga is hitting .148 on the season, and are averaging 10.7 kills per set. Ashley Yeager leads the team in kills with 116, while Courtney Barnes has a team-high .299 hitting percentage. At setter, the Lady Mocs feature a double-threat with Michaela Huff and Cassie Conner, as both have posted over 200 assists on the season. Conner leads the team at 287 and Huff has recorded 204.
On defense, a familiar face leads UTC in digs as Lara Newberry continues her defensive excellence with 315. The senior is currently first in the Southern Conference and eighth in the NCAA in digs per set with 5.53. She comes into the weekend only 78 digs shy of breaking the NCAA’s all-time record of 2,791, set by Minnesota’s Paula Gentile.
Appalachian State (4-12, 0-2 SoCon) is currently hitting .167 on the season and average 11.9 kills per set. Leading the offense for the Mountaineers is Jordan Jesberg with 164 kills and 2.88 per set. Kasey Sauls is ASU’s primary setter with 8.82 assists per set and Cassie Engelgau leads the team in digs with 3.53 per frame.
Western Carolina (3-12, 1-1 SoCon) is coming to Chattanooga off of a big win against Elon last Sunday. In 2008 the Catamounts are averaging 9.9 kills per set and have a team hitting percentage of .130. Carrie Minogue is WCU’s leading hitter with a team-high 126 kills and a .271 hitting percentage. Minogue also leads the team in kills-per-set with 2.38. Katie Hennessey is the team’s leader in assists with 403 and 7.60 per set, while Liz Rondone paces the defense with 4.81 digs per.
“Both Appalachian State and Western Carolina are pretty comparable to us,” said Rhodes. “We have to take care of business while we are home, I think that will be key for us.”
After this weekend the Lady Mocs will continue its home stand with a mid-week match against Samford. The tilt is slated for Wednesday, Oct. 8 inside Maclellan Gym. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Admission is free to both games and Friday’s match is a designated “Residence Rumble” event. All students on the North and South campuses are encouraged to attend for the opportunity to win a party for the floor/section with the highest attendance throughout the academic year. So their attendance will be tracked, students will need to check in at the designated table in Maclellan Gym.
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