The Wofford Terriers got the best of the UTC volleyball team 3-0 Friday night at Maclellan Gym as the Mocs near the end of the 2013 season. Despite a strong showing by the Mocs, Wofford proved to be too much offensively for UTC.
“I was really proud and happy with how our student-athletes came out and played at a very high level,” Head Coach Travis Filar said.
“The problem with tonight was that Wofford was playing with that same intensity, and they are playing for a berth in the tournament. They won a lot of long rallies tonight.”
With its closest set of the night, Chattanooga was within two points of the Terriers before Wofford took a 25-23 win to begin the night. The Mocs recorded a night-best 13 kills in the first set and forced three lead changes against Wofford.
Sophomore Sarah Batterton (Colbert, Wash.) led the Mocs with nine kills on the night, claiming five in the first set alone. Freshman Allie Davenport (Tyrone, Ga.) followed with three in the set and would end the night with seven.
Wofford claimed its largest victory of the night leading 1-0 with a 25-17 mark in the second set. The Terriers were led by attacker Amanda Liguori who finished out the evening with 17 kills and a .341 hitting percentage. Wendy Burnett finished second in the stats with 10 kills, representing the only other Terrier to register double-digit kills on the night.
Despite a closer set in the third frame, Chattanooga fell 25-18 and suffered its fifth loss in a row.
Freshman Hannah Merkle (Parker, Colo.) led Chattanooga with 15 digs, playing in all three sets. The freshman entered the third set as libero in place of the injured Melissa Green (Boca Raton, Fla.). Sophomore defensive specialist Catherine Chason (Alpharetta, Ga.) finished second on defense with 10 digs while fellow sophomore Lauren Gainer (Boca Raton, Fla.) led the Mocs at the net with five assisted blocks.
The Mocs wrap up their season on Saturday at 3 p.m. as Maclellan Gym hosts Furman. Live stats and video are available for the match via the Mocs volleyball schedule page.