The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team battled close in all three sets, but ultimately dropped a 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-23) match at The Citadel in Southern Conference action on Monday evening inside the McAlister Field House.
Following the loss, Chattanooga falls to 5-9 overall and 3-9 in SoCon play. The Citadel improves to 5-10 and 3-7 in league action.
The two teams opened the match by trading the first 22 points, tying 11-11, before The Citadel ran with the next seven points to extend out to an 18-11 edge.
Chattanooga answered with an emphatic run, scoring 12 of the next 18, to climb within one, 24-23. A UTC service error on the proceeding point ended the early comeback bid, 25-23.
After a back-and-forth start to the set, The Citadel broke away from an 8-7 lead with an 11-5 run to pull ahead at a sizeable 19-12 margin. UTC pulled within three late at 24-21 after rolling on a 7-1 run, but a Bulldog kill ended the set at 25-21.
The Citadel raced out to a 10-2 lead in the second set before Chattanooga responded with 15 of the next 24 points to pull within two at 19-17. The home team chipped away to lead 24-20 before three-straight points from UTC brought things to a point. A Chattanooga attacking error on the Bulldogs set point clinched a 25-23 decision and the 3-0 sweep.
Maia Rackel (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) led the team with 11 kills while MacKenzie Saitta (Elkhorn, Neb.) followed with 10 at a team-best .360% attacking percentage. Mikaela Gauthreaux (Johns Creek, Ga.) added six in the defeat.
Rackel and Sarah Flynn (Alpharetta, Ga.) each led the team with three block assists while Gauthreaux and Kate Neill (Plymouth, Minn.) each recorded two assists. UTC was out-blocked as a team 7.0-5.0.
Emma Perkins (Rossville, Tenn.) made her first career start as libero and recorded a career-high 18 digs and four assists. Brenna Everingham (Noblesville, Ind.) and Makenzie Jordan (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) each added seven digs to aid the defense. In addition, Jordan posted a career-high three aces from the service line on Monday.
Sophia Bossong (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) completed the assist-dig double-double with 23 assists and 10 digs. She also added to the team’s six aces with one.
Chattanooga (5-9, 3-9 SoCon) enters its BYE slot on the schedule next weekend and will return to action in two weeks on March 21 and 22 to host Samford in its final home matches of the 2020-21 season.