The Chattanooga volleyball team claimed a 3-2 come from behind win in a thrilling five-set match against ETSU in Johnson City on Friday. UTC clinched at least a share of the Southern Conference title for the first time since 1998, while improving to 23-5 and 12-3 in the league.
"With these seniors, that's exactly what I was hoping for when I was recruiting them," head coach Travis Filar stated. "I told them they have an opportunity to come here, lay the foundation and build this program to a championship level. It's taken hard work, belief and faith in each other and in the process of building a championship program to get us here."
The Bucs came out on fire and jumped to an early 2-0 lead. Chattanooga went down 22-20 in a nerve racking third frame, but the Mocs won five points in a row to clinch the third 25-22.
"After the second set, I challenged the team that there's no need to make this any bigger or smaller that it needs to be, or any more challenging than it needs to be," said Filar. "When ETSU puts pressure on us, let's be strong enough, together enough, and play for the person to the right and left of us."
UTC rolled over ETSU 25-14 in the fourth. Despite being down 11-1 and 14-4 in the fifth, the Mocs fought back, saving 11 match points. Ten of those came with freshman Rachel Petkosh (Merritt Island, Fla.) at serve. Junior Allie Davenport (Tyrone, Ga.) served for the match at 20-19, and seniors Sarah Batterton (Colbert, Wash.) and Lauren Gainer (Boca Raton, Fla.) hit the match-winning block.
"When their backs are against the wall, they really rise to a challenge," explained Filar. "And they're able to respond that way because of how strong of a team they are, how much they have each other's back, and how much that they believe that no deficit is too big for them to not be able to overcome."
Davenport posted a season-best 25 kills in addition to 11 digs, her second double-double of the year. Senior Briana Reid (Houston, Texas) tallied her 10th double-double this season with 11 kills and 10 digs.
Junior Kristy Wieser (Lincoln, Neb.) recorded a team-best .348 hitting percentage.
Senior Catherine Chason (Alpharetta, Ga.) led the back row with 19 digs, while Gainer paced the squad with four blocks.
Chattanooga wins the league title outright with a win over Western Carolina Saturday at 6:00 p.m. in Cullowhee, N.C. Live stats and video links can be found on the volleyball schedule page at GoMocs.com.