HOUSTON, Texas – The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball lost a hard-fought match to Tulsa Friday afternoon to open up the 2014 season. A 3-1 loss to the Hurricane, UTC forced extra points to claim the second set 26-24, but fell 25-19, 25-14 and 25-22 in the first, third and final frames.
“Our team played well tonight,” Head Coach Travis Filar said. “I thought we played well as a team and did some great things on offense. We kept the score close in three sets, and won the second set with our backs to the wall. We just have to be sharper tomorrow.”
Junior Briana Reid (Houston,Texas) starred in her collegiate return to her home city. The Lone Star State native collected a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs, while fellow Houston resident Lauren Greenspoon (Houston, Texas) made her first college start at setter. The freshman boasted 35 assists along with eight digs to kick off her career.
“Lauren and Briana both played great today,” Filar said. “It was good to see them start in their home town, and they performed really well. Briana scored 11 points for us and Lauren ran our offense very smoothly.”
Also posting a double-double was newcomer Kristy Wieser (Lincoln, Neb.) with 10 kills, 11 digs. The sophomore led the Mocs scoring effort with 12 points.
Chattanooga’s second-set victory came with the Mocs trailing 24-20 with the Hurricane serving for set-point. With Allie Davenport (Tyrone, Ga.) back to serve, UTC’s defense forced Tulsa to commit six consecutive attacking errors to fall in the frame.
Despite tying the match 1-1 after the second set, Tulsa dominated in the third set and just edged the Mocs by three points in the final stanza.
Chattanooga is back in action tomorrow to wrap up its Texas swing with a 1 p.m. match against Northern Arizona and an 8 p.m. date with hosting Houston Baptist.
Both games are available free to follow via live stats. Video is provided courtesy of HBU for the Mocs’ match against the Huskies.
UTC returns to Maclellan Gym to open its home schedule Tuesday at 6 p.m. as the Scenic City hosts Kennesaw State.