Chattanooga volleyball came up just short in their Friday night match against The Citadel at Maclellan Gymnasium, with the Mocs ultimately falling in five sets to the reigning SoCon regular season champions.
Despite multiple career-high performances from the likes of Chard’e Vanzandt, Elaine Redman and Chandler Alter, the Mocs just couldn’t muster up enough to get past a strong Bulldog team that was headlined by a 42-dig double-double by Mackenzie Martin.
The Mocs opened the match on fire, pulling ahead of the Bulldogs and not looking back in the first set.
With a score of 25-20, the Mocs were in control as UTC jumped ahead 1-0 on The Citadel.
Even after such a strong start by Chattanooga, the Bulldogs swung right back at UTC by claiming narrow set wins in the second and third frames. After capturing set two 26-24, The Citadel was able to squeak out a 27-25 victory in the third to turn the tide, now holding a 2-1 advantage on the Mocs heading into a crucial fourth set.
While the fourth frame began as a back-and-forth contest between the two squads, it was ultimately a 7-0 scoring run by the Mocs at the midway point of the set that made all the difference with Chattanooga building up a 19-10 lead on the Bulldogs. The Citadel stormed back with a late run of their own, but it proved too little too late as the Mocs secured a 25-17 win in set four, forcing a deciding fifth set in front of the home Maclellan crowd.
The Mocs were slow out of the gates to open the fifth, allowing The Citadel to build up an 8-5 lead as the teams swapped sides, but a 6-1 UTC scoring run flipped the script on the Bulldogs as Chattanooga positioned itself for the clinching blow while up 11-9. Unfortunately for the Mocs, the remainder of the final frame would be controlled by the Bulldogs, as they chipped away at the UTC lead before gaining and maintaining the advantage all the way to the wire.
With a final score of 15-13, The Citadel claimed a narrow set win once again on the Mocs, this time to clinch the 3-2 match win.
Chard’e Vanzandt had herself a career night for the Mocs, tallying not only a team-leading 27 kills, but notching a new career-high for her playing career on a .389 hitting percentage. She was accompanied by Elaine Redman, whom also finished her night with a career-high as the Chattanooga native capped off her night with a personal best 57 assists.
Also finishing with double-digit kills were Breanah Rives (14) and Sydney Jackwin (10), who each also ended their nights with double-doubles as Rives recorded 13 digs and Jackwin recorded 12. Redman also recorded a double-double for the Mocs, putting up a season-high 21 on the night.
Paige Gallentine paced the Mocs in the digs department with 33, just shy of her career-high mark. Fellow senior Chandler Alter followed right behind Gallentine with 23 digs, yet another career-high on the night for UTC.
Gallentine also finished the match with a team-high four aces, as Rives and Vanzandt also added three aces of their own. As for blocks, freshman Kynli Kirkendoll wrapped up the night with a team-leading five.
NEXT UP
UTC continues what will end up being a six-match homestand tomorrow afternoon as the Mocs will welcome UNC Greensboro to Maclellan Gymnasium for the Mocs’ third consecutive home match. The Mocs and the Spartans will open their match at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+. Admission to all Chattanooga volleyball matches is free for the public, and live stats are also available for fans via the link on the team’s schedule page on GoMocs.com.