The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team claimed its fourth victory over its last five sets with a 3-1 win over Austin Peay Tuesday night. Its second midweek win in a row, the Mocs took the first set 25-21, the second 27-25 and the fourth 25-22. The Govs claimed the third 25-2.
“This is a big win for our team,” Head Coach Travis Filar said. “Austin Peay was a team we played in the spring, and they were a better team than us then. Tonight we came out, fought hard against a tough-nosed team and got the win. And to win a second midweek in a row is huge.”
The Mocs defense held the APSU hitter to a .178 hitting percentage in the first set. Sophomore Kristy Wieser (Lincoln, Neb.), leading the Mocs with 13 kills in the match, posted five kills in the set. Nine of UTC’s points came via attacking errors.
The second set was forced to extra points with the teams hitting nearly identical. Chattanooga hit .263 while the Governors hit .262 for the frame. Despite Austin Peay’s 18 attacks, the Mocs came upon its two-point win with the help of Lauren Gainer’s (Boca Raton, Fla.) four kills. UTC also posted three total kills with Sarah Batterton (Colbert, Wash.) and Nicole Sumida (Hixson, Tenn.) with solo blocks, and Wieser and Julimar Alvarado (San Juan, Puerto Rico) with assisted blocks.
Austin Peay took a convincing 25-12 victory in the third, but UTC stormed back in the fourth 25-22 to win the match. Chattanooga hit a match-best .310 as the Mocs totaled 15 kills. Wieser led with four kills, and both Alvarado and Allie Davenport (Tyrone, Ga.) each had three kills.
In all, three Mocs hit above .300 in the contest. Wieser (.355), Gainer (.333) and Sumida (.429) led the way while setters Lauren Greenspoon (Houston, Texas) and Anne Bachmann (Lincoln, Neb.) were above .300 on limited attacks.
Chattanooga returns to Maclellan Gym Friday to host the Scenic City Showdown tournament. The four-team tournament begins at 3 p.m. Friday and closes Saturday with a 7 p.m. contest with four matches in between.