It is officially Chattanooga Classic week for Chattanooga volleyball, as the Mocs are set to host the 17th edition of their home tournament at Maclellan Gymnasium from September 6-7.
A total of four teams are taking part in this year’s tournament, with Chattanooga being joined by Belmont, Charleston Southern and Tennessee State. The Mocs will be looking to capture their sixth Chattanooga Classic title, as well as go back-to-back as the tournament’s champion for the first time since 2018 and 2019.
UTC’s weekend slate will begin on Friday, September 6 with two matches pitting the Mocs against the likes of Tennessee State and Charleston Southern.
Those matches are scheduled for 1 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. ET start times, respectively. Chattanooga then closes out its tournament on Saturday, September 7 by hosting Belmont in what will be the tournament finale at 2 p.m. ET.
Each of Chattanooga’s three matches this weekend will be available to stream via ESPN+. Live stats will also be available for all matches. The link for the stream and stats can be found above on this article or on the GoMocs.com volleyball schedule page.
Admission to the Chattanooga Classic is free for the public. Friday’s slate of matches will begin at 10 a.m. ET with Belmont facing Charleston Southern, while Saturday’s matches are set to start at 11 a.m. ET with Tennessee State taking on CSU.
MATCH CENTRAL
Friday, September 6 | vs. Tennessee State | 1 p.m. ET | Stats | Stream
Friday, September 6 | vs. Charleston Southern | 7 p.m. ET | Stats | Stream
Saturday, September 7 | vs. Belmont | 2 p.m. ET | Stats | Stream
Tournament Hub
SERIES HISTORY
Belmont: 5-8 (Last time: August 24, 2018 – 3-0 W)
Charleston Southern: 2-2 (Last time: September 1, 2023 – 3-0 W)
Tennessee State: 8-3 (Last time: September 3, 2019 – 1-3 L)
A SOLID START TO 2024
The Mocs ended their season-opening weekend at the Betty Austin Invitational with a 3-1 record, reaching a crescendo of success as Labor Day weekend came and went. UTC opened its tournament with a 3-1 loss to Southern Illinois but was able to bounce back in a major way by stringing together three consecutive wins to close out the tourney. Amongst those wins were back-to-back 3-0 sweeps against Idaho and Alabama A&M, as well as a 3-1 victory over Oral Roberts.
TORBETT THOMAS CLOSES IN ON WIN NO. 50
UTC head coach and Director of Volleyball Julie Torbett Thomas is closing in on a Chattanooga coaching milestone as her third year in the Scenic City gets underway, with Torbett Thomas inching closer to the 50-win mark as UTC’s head coach. Torbett Thomas actively holds a record of 39-31 with Chattanooga, a win total that currently ranks fourth all-time in program history. Currently coaching in her 31st season of collegiate volleyball, Torbett Thomas’ all-time coaching record stands at 507-435.
RIGHT WHERE SHE LEFT OFF
Setter Elaine Redman picked up right where she left off the 2023 season this past weekend, with Redman being selected as the Southern Conference’s Setter of the Week. This marks Redman’s sixth time securing the weekly award in her career, having set the program record for most POTW awards won in a single season last year with five. She trails only her current teammate, Paige Gallentine, for the most POTW honors won in a career in program history. Gallentine sits at seven all-time. Additionally, Redman officially surpassed 3,000 career assists over this past weekend’s matches.
HARDWARE IN HUNTSVILLE
Two Chattanooga student-athletes came away with spots on the All-Tournament Team at this past weekend’s Betty Austin Invitational. Senior Chard’e Vanzandt and junior Sydney Jackwin both received the honor, having been voted some of the best players at the tournament by the coaches in attendance. The pair combined for 80 kills, 61 digs, 13 blocks and eight aces over the course of the weekend.
DEFENDING THE MAC
This weekend marks the 17th installment of the Chattanooga Classic, UTC’s annual home tournament hosted at Maclellan Gymnasium. The Mocs will be aiming to go back-to-back as Chattanooga Classic champions, which would be just the second time the team has done so with the other being when the Mocs claimed back-to-back tournament titles in 2018 and 2019. Under Julie Torbett Thomas, the Mocs hold a 15-10 record when playing at Maclellan Gymnasium including holding a 7-2 record when hosting home non-conference matches. In the 17-year history of the tournament, the Mocs are 28-22 in Chattanooga Classic tournament matches.
ABOUT BELMONT
Belmont got their 2024 season off to a strong start last weekend at the Belmont/Lipscomb Tournament hosted in Nashville, Tennessee, with the Bruins opening the year a perfect 2-0 following victories over Butler and Cal Baptist. A year ago, Belmont saw itself finish 14-20 (7-11 MVC) with the team’s season coming to an end in the MVC Tournament Quarterfinals. Now sparked by an undefeated opening weekend of action in 2024, the Bruins will look to utilize their size and serving to navigate a tricky Chattanooga Classic field. Belmont enters the weekend ranking near the top end of the Missouri Valley Conference in service aces (2.13 aces/set – third) and in blocks (1.75 blocks/set – fifth). The Bruins will rely heavily upon Alivia Keegan to provide a spark for the team in the service game, as Keegan actively ranks first in the MVC in aces/set by averaging 0.75. Belmont also has a pair of outside hitters that the Mocs will need to be prepared to meet head on, with Brooke Gilleland and Emily Warmenhoven both providing much of the Bruins’ offense to open the year, combining for half of the team’s kills on the season. Warmenhoven has also proven to be quite efficient in her offense, as the sophomore’s .381 hitting percentage currently ranking fourth in the MVC.
ABOUT CHARLESTON SOUTHERN
Despite the season being only a week old, the Buccaneers have faced a rollercoaster start to their 2024 season that currently sees Charleston Southern entering the weekend 1-2. CSU opened its year with a massive victory over Furman on the Paladins’ home court, defeating Furman in a thrilling 3-1 match. The Buccaneers were then hit with back-to-back 3-0 sweep losses to close out their season-opening weekend, falling first to Charlotte followed by Texas – Rio Grande Valley. While it maybe wasn’t the most ideal start to the year, CSU still has plenty to hang its hat on when looking at some of the weapons they bring with them to the Scenic City. Leading the charge for the Bucs is libero Julia Fledderjohn, who has opened up her junior campaign as the Big South’s leader in service aces/set (0.60). The Commerce Township, Michigan, native also currently leads Charleston Southern in total digs, having closed out thew weekend with 23 in total. CSU also brings a very deep roster of pins into the Chattanooga Classic, as a total of five Bucs players have tallied double-digit kills on the season.
ABOUT TENNESSEE STATE
The Tigers will be looking at the Chattanooga Classic weekend as a clean slate for the team following an 0-2 start to their new season. TSU was faced with the difficult task of having to face two difficult opponents at the Arizona Tournament, starting first with Boise State before taking on Power 4 foe Arizona on their home court. Both matches resulted in 3-0 sweep losses for Tennessee State, and now the Tigers will be aiming to notch a win to their belts as non-conference action wages on. While the start to the season may not have been the prettiest, two big takeaways from the losses were the solid starts to Celestial Miller and Hadley Pride’s seasons. Miller, one year removed from finishing as TSU’s No. 2 leader in kills, is averaging double-digit kills/match this season with the senior having notched 23 total kills over the opening two contests. Miller also finished as Tennessee State’s team leader in service aces last season (20), and while she has yet to record her first ace of 2023, she will be a threat that UTC will have to be prepared for on Friday. Pride on the other hand put together two strong defensive outings when faced with the offenses of Boise State and Arizona, as Pride recorded back-to-back 16-dig performances in each of those matches.
CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
- Elaine Redman now sits at 3,079 career assists with 2,022 of those coming during her time at Chattanooga. Right now, Redman actively ranks ninth all-time on Chattanooga’s career assists leaderboard with her at 2,022. 93 more assists, and Redman will match recent UTC grad Sophia Bossong (2020-23) for eight all-time. Seventh place Dina Parris (1984-87) sits not that far ahead of Bossong, with Parris hovering at 2,202 career assists.
- Paige Gallentine sits 246 digs away from tying herself for second in program history in career digs. Gallentine has 2,069.
- Gallentine also now officially ranks tied for ninth in program history in career aces with 105. She’ll need six more aces to tie Dina Parris (1984-87) for eighth all-time.
- Marcelle Baez-Carlo needs 60 total blocks to officially enter UTC’s Top 10 in career blocks (she currently has 210).
- Baez-Carlo is also 30 block assists from entering that UTC Top 10 list as well.
- Chard’e Vanzandt is nine blocks away from having 150 over her Division I playing career. 109 of her 141 career blocks have come with the Mocs.
- Redman is one match away from making her 100th career appearance (She has appeared in 66 with the Mocs).
- Erin Wyatt needs two more appearances to also reach her 100th career match played.
- Ashley Taylor sits at 148 total blocks at the Division I level, needing two more to hit 150 in her career.
- Taylor needs just one more appearance to reach her 50th Division I match played.
- Caiti Barthel is two digs away from reaching 250 in her career.
- Julie Torbett Thomas needs one more win to reach 40 head coaching victories while at Chattanooga. She currently sits at 507 head coaching wins all-time in her career.
THE HOMESTAND CONTINUES NEXT TUESDAY
While the 2024 Chattanooga Classic may come to a close this Saturday, the festivities at Maclellan Gymnasium are far from over for the coming week as the Mocs are slated to host Jacksonville State on Tuesday, September 10 for the team’s final home non-conference match of the season. Not only will the match provide fans with an opportunity to catch the team in action in-person, but the first 50 fans in attendance will also be treated to the “Mac at the Mac” macaroni & cheese giveaway. Tuesday night’s match is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPN+ as well. The next opportunity to see the Mocs at home won’t come until September 29, when UTC hosts Samford in its first SoCon home match of the year.
2024 PROMOTIONS SCHEDULE
A variety of marketing and fan promotions are being offered this season for the Chattanooga volleyball team, with several home matches providing unique and fun styling and/or giveaways to fans in attendance. The first opportunity fans will have at these fun promotions will be on September 10 for UTC’s home matchup with Jacksonville State, with the team hosting “Mac at the Mac” with mac and cheese as well as a camper reunion for those that attended the Mocs’ summer camps.