Despite a 3-2 loss in the team’s tournament finale on Saturday against Gardner-Webb, the Mocs came away as champions of the 2023 Chattanooga Classic with a 2-1 record on their home court over the weekend.
The Mocs (11-3) went the full five sets in the team’s eventual 3-2 loss to Gardner-Webb (5-6) to wrap up their home tournament at Maclellan Gymnasium. However, a Morehead State victory over Eastern Michigan earlier in the day created a three-way tie between UTC, GWU and MSU that was broken with the Mocs having won the most sets (2) in their loss on the weekend compared to GWU and MSU (1).
This marks the first time since 2019 that the Mocs have been able to come away as champions of the Chattanooga Classic, as well as the fifth time in the tournament’s 17-year history.
The Mocs opened their match against Gardner-Webb with a very back and forth first set with the Bulldogs.
Once the Mocs were able to get the edge, however, UTC was able to power through to start the match off up 1-0.
Set two on the other hand was all Gardner-Webb, with a 13-3 run by the Bulldogs helping them grab a set back by a scoreline of 25-20.
Needing a boost, the Mocs turned to one of the most senior members of the team to lead the charge. Gylian Finch helped provide a major spark to the Mocs offense, as the grad student ended the match with four aces. Rallying behind Finch’s serving, the Mocs closed out the third set on a 5-0 run to jump ahead 2-1 on the Bulldogs with a 25-15 set win.
Gardner-Webb held firm after the Mocs took the lead, once again responding with a 25-16 fourth set victory of their own. With the score now tied 2-2, the final match of the Chattanooga Classic would come down to a fifth set.
Set five started with both teams exchanging blows, as the lead for either team never surpassed one prior to the team’s switching sides. With the Mocs leading 8-7, the Bulldogs closed out their match with an 8-3 exclamation point, sealing the set and match with a 15-11 victory in five.
Both Gylian Finch and Morgan Romano finished with 14 kills in the match for the Mocs, while Elaine Redman logged 47 assists, her second-most in a single match this season. Chard’e Vanzandt led the Mocs with a career-high six blocks and Paige Gallentine once again showed out in the digs department with 18.
Finch capped off her weekend as the Chattanooga Classic MVP for her efforts, as Finch ended the weekend with 32 kills, 31 digs, eight aces and six blocks over the team’s three matches in Maclellan. Kate Neill and Chard’e Vanzandt also received spots on the Chattanooga Classic All-Tournament Team.
2023 Chattanooga Classic All-Tournament Team
Gylian Finch, OH, Chattanooga (MVP)
Kate Neil, MB, Chattanooga
Chard’e Vanzandt, OH, Chattanooga
Madison Smith, OH, Gardner-Webb
Paige Bernstein, S, Gardner-Webb
Maycie Welborn, RS, Morehead State
Irene Wogenstahl, MB, Morehead State
Hannah Howard, DS/L, Eastern Michigan
The Mocs now get to stay home as the team heads into the first weekend of SoCon play next Friday and Saturday with a two-match weekend against The Citadel (11-0) and Wofford (8-2). The Mocs will start the weekend off by taking on The Citadel at 6 p.m. ET on Friday, September 22 and then close out the team’s homestand at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 23. Both matches will be free for the public to attend at Maclellan Gymnasium, and both will also be available to stream on ESPN+. Live stats will also be provided online.