In a re-match of the 2016 SoCon Championship match, the Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team earned a 3-1 (24-26, 25-22, 25-17, 25-19) win over the Samford Bulldogs on Friday evening in Maclellan Gymnasium.
With the win, the Mocs improve to 10-9 overall and 3-2 in the Southern Conference.
Samford falls to a likewise 3-2 record in the conference while holding an 8-11 mark overall.
“We started out really slow, and it was disappointing because of the great week of practice we had,” said coach Travis Filar. “I told our kids in conference we have to come out strong and we didn’t do that. I really challenged them in one of the timeouts to fight back.
“We won the match because of the first set, even though we didn’t get the set win, the resiliency and determination to fight back [down 15-6 in the first] to get the opportunity to win, that’s why we won this match.”
Chattanooga registered 73 digs in the win with five different players reaching double-digit digs. Megan Kaufman paced the Mocs with 22 digs while Miranda Elpers chipped in with a season-high 19 digs. Lauren Greenspoon added 11 digs while Ally Ford and Bailey Clemons finished with ten.
“The quality of digs was huge for us tonight. Our ability to transition them into really big swings on offense was the difference,” said Filar.
The Mocs finished the match with a .205 hitting percentage while holding the opposition to a .138 percentage. Chattanooga hit at a combined .286 clip in the final three sets and held Samford to .168 during that span, including a .333 to .067 advantage in the third set.
Ford and Elpers held down the offensive attack with a combined 36 kills at a combined .223 hitting percentage. Ford finished with 19 kills at a .211 clip while Elpers added 17 kills at a .234 percentage. Greenspoon directed the offense with 49 assists in just four sets. Eden Murray posted nine kills at a .278 percentage while Dani Szczepanski finished with seven kills. Both Murray and Szczepanski totaled 4.0 blocks in the win.
“Our kids really showed some maturity against a really well-coached and talented team tonight,” added Filar.
The Mocs will host Mercer tomorrow for a 1 p.m. match in Maclellan Gymnasium. Admission is FREE and all fans in attendance will receive half-off coupon vouchers for the Chattanooga Homecoming football game against Furman at 4 p.m. at Finley Stadium. Fans are also encouraged to bring items for donations toward those in need during the tragedy in Puerto Rico.
Match Stats & Notes
- Lauren Greenspoon finished with 49 assists in just four sets … the most for her in a four-set match since Nov. 6, 2015 against The Citadel (55).
- Ally Ford posted 19 kills and ten digs … her eighth kill-dig double-double of the season … totaled seven kills in the second set alone.
- Miranda Elpers finished with 17 kills at a .234 clip … added a season-high 19 digs for her sixth kill-dig double-double of the year.
Chattanooga 3, Samford 1
1st Set | SAM 26, UTC 24
The Mocs came out a little flat in the first set as they fell behind 11-2 and 15-6 before they battled back and set the tone for the rest of the match. The Mocs went on a vicious 13-1 run from that point to take a 19-16 lead and forcing Samford into a timeout. The Mocs maintained the three-point lead at 23-20 before the Bulldogs rallied back with four-straight to take a 24-23. Miranda Elpers laid down her fourth kill of the set to tie things up 24-24 before Samford clinched the set on a pair of Chattanooga errors, 26-24.
2nd Set | UTC 25, SAM 22
The first set rally from the Mocs carried over into the second set as they took an 8-7 lead and never trailed after that point. Chattanooga would extend their lead to 15-12 before Samford called for their first timeout of the set. Going back-and-forth, the Mocs gained a four-point advantage at 20-16 as the Bulldogs called for their final break. Samford would cut the deficit to two at 23-21 before kills from Ally Ford and Eden Murray notched the 25-22 set win and tied the match at 1-1.
3rd Set | UTC 25, SAM 17
Coming out of the break, the third set featured ten ties and four lead changes in the first half of the frame. With the score tied 14-14, a Dani Szczepanski kill gave the Mocs a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. UTC scored three of the next four from that point to take an 18-15 lead and forcing a Samford timeout. An Ally Ford kill gave the Mocs a 20-17 lead and also Ford the serve. She served up three aces in route to five-straight Mocs points, earning a 25-17 set win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
4th Set | UTC 25, SAM 19
With momentum on the Mocs side, Chattanooga jumped out to a 9-6 lead after back-to-back kills from Ford and Murray and forced the Bulldogs into a timeout. Both teams would exchange the next 18 points for an 18-15 Mocs advantage. From that point, UTC went on a 7-4 run, highlighted by a match-clinching block from Lauren Greenspoon and Dani Szczepanski, to win the set 25-19 and the match 3-1.