The Chattanooga Mocs’ indoor volleyball team fell in three sets to the Wofford Terriers on Friday evening inside Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. After not playing the first set, Kate Neill recorded 10 kills on 12 swings with one error, hitting .750 and tying the program record for hitting percentage in a match.
MATCH RECAP
SET 1 · WOF 25, UTC 14
SET 2 · WOF 25, UTC 20
SET 3 · WOF 25, UTC 17
The Mocs got ahead with an early ace from Liz Tomlin, but an 8-1 run by the Terriers gave Wofford a six-point edge and forced UTC to call their first timeout.
It was a kill from Gylian Finch and a Sophia Bossong ace that brought the Mocs back within six, down 12-6. Following the ace, the hosts went on another run, this time winning five straight points, forcing the Mocs to call their second timeout of the frame. The Mocs served two more aces later in the set, but were unable to cut their deficit into single digits. The Terriers took the first set, 25-14. Wofford outhit the Mocs .306-.020 and recorded five blocks.
Wofford kept its momentum to start the second set as the hosts got off to a quick 6-0 start. The Mocs won six of the next nine points to bring the squad within three. Neill kept the Mocs’ three-point deficit with her second kill of the night, but back-to-back kills from Wofford put the hosts up five and UTC called timeout down 18-13. The Terriers kept their momentum, hitting .343 in the set and took a 2-0 lead in the match. After entering the match in the second, Neill had five kills on five swings in the second.
UTC took its first lead of the match in the third set, leading 6-5. After the two teams exchanged the next set of points, the Mocs held their biggest lead of the match, a 14-11 advantage. Wofford won 14 of the next 17 points to take the match with two big runs. The Terriers hit .237 in the third set while the Mocs hit .119. The third set featured seven ties and six lead changes.
Neill posted five kills in both sets she played to tie the record which dates back to 1989.
Rackel was the other Moc with double-digit kills, she had 10.
For the third straight match, Paige Gallentine tallied 11 digs in the first set. She recorded 18 in the match, which led all players.
Wofford’s Kennedy Smith led the contest with 13 kills and a .324
The Mocs are back in action Thursday in Maclellan Gym as the team hosts Western Carolina at 5 p.m.