The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team suffered a tough 3-2 (25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 21-25, 15-9) loss on the opening day of Southern Conference play in Maclellan Gymnasium. The loss marks the first back-to-back losses at home since Sept. 26, 2014 and the first loss to WCU in Maclellan since Oct. 5, 2013.
The Mocs fall to 7-8, 0-1 on the season and have lost their last five.
Western Carolina improves to 6-9 and 1-1 in Southern Conference play after falling on the road to ETSU
on Tuesday.
Chattanooga registered more kills than WCU at a 69-58 advantage but the Catamounts hit for a .201 percentage and out-blocked the Mocs 12.0 – 9.0. In the fifth and final set, Western Carolina totaled nine kills on a .269 percentage and sided-out at a 100% clip (9-for-9).
The Mocs held WCU to a combined .106 hitting percentage in the third and fourth sets, both Chattanooga set victories, while UTC hit at an even .200.
Chattanooga returns to Southern Conference action tomorrow against UNCG at 6 p.m. in Maclellan Gymnasium. The match will be broadcasted LIVE on GoMocs.com.
Match Stats & Notes
- Eden Murray appeared in her first action of 2017 (injury) … totaled a career-high 7.0 blocks in just four sets … posted ten kills at a team-best .333 percentage.
- Megan Kaufman registered a career-high 42 digs in five sets … most digs by a Moc since Oct. 11, 2008 (51) & second-most in a match this season across all of NCAA DI … now has 332 total digs on the year at a 6.15 per set average.
- Ally Ford racked up a career-high 21 kills at a .172 percentage … completed the double-double with 13 digs.
- Lauren Greenspoon dished out 43 assists in just four sets … added seven digs … holds a 10.48 assists per set average this season.
Western Carolina 3, Chattanooga 2
1st Set | WCU 25, UTC 21
Both the Mocs and Catamounts traded the first 14 points of the match resulting in a 7-7 tie. WCU rallied for a 9-6 run to open up a 16-13 lead and forcing Chattanooga into a timeout. A 19-15 Catamount lead would lead UTC into their final timeout before completing the first set win 25-21 on a tandem block.
2nd Set | WCU 25, UTC 22
Chattanooga trailed in the early going 11-8 before rattling off a 5-1 run to take a 13-12 lead and making WCU call for a break. The Catamounts responded out of the timeout and rattled off 11 of the next 18 points to extend a 23-20 lead before notching the second set on a pair of kills, 25-22.
3rd Set | UTC 25, WCU 21
In a must-win set for the Mocs, Chattanooga and Western Carolina knotted up 11 different times but switched the lead only twice. With the set tied 13-13, WCU scored three of the next four to take a 16-14 lead. The Mocs responded with nine of the next 13 to take a 23-20 lead and forcing the opposition into a timeout. A pair of Miranda Elpers kills ended the set at 25-21 and allowed the match to be extended into a fourth set.
4th Set | UTC 25, WCU 21
Needing another set win to push the match to a deciding fifth, the Mocs did just that in convincing fashion on the stat sheet. Chattanooga registered 18 kills while holding Western Carolina to only eight on a .091 percentage. The fourth set featured the most lead changes of any set in the match (4) and also accounted for six different ties. With the set tied 13 all, Chattanooga used an Eden Murray kill and forced a pair of WCU errors to extend a 16-13 lead. They would build on that lead to a 22-17 score before Western called for their final timeout. Ally Ford laid down a kill and Emily Plumlee followed with two of her own to secure a 25-21 set win and force a deciding fifth set.
5th Set | WCU 15, UTC 8
In the winner-take-all set, Western Carolina jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead and held an 8-4 lead at the switch. Chattanooga couldn’t claw their way back, finishing the set with six kills at a .103 percentage while WCU totaled nine kills at a .269 percentage and sided-out at a perfect 100% (9-for-9). The Mocs fell 15-8 in the set and 3-2 in the match.