CHATTANOOGA – The Chattanooga Mocs’ indoor volleyball team will hit the road for the final time in the regular season this weekend as the team travels to Macon, Ga. and Birmingham, Ala.
WEEKEND CENTRAL
UTC at Mercer | FRIDAY | 7 PM | LIVE STATS
UTC at Samford | SATURDAY | 8 PM (EST) | LIVE STATS | ESPN+
LAST WEEK’S RECAP
Chattanooga enters the its final road trip of the regular season with a 4-8 league record after winning its last two contests. The Mocs defeated Furman and The Citadel last weekend in three and four sets, respectively. UTC averaged 13.14 kills per set and hit .278 in the two wins. The team posted 13 blocks and out-dug their opponents 132-125.
BACK-TO-BACK SOCON WINS
The Mocs have posted back-to-back league wins for the first time since the last weekend of the 2019 regular season when UTC defeated The Citadel and Wofford at home on Nov. 15 and 16. It’s the first time since Oct. 6 and 7, 2017 that UTC won consecutive matches in the same weekend and neither match went to five sets.
FINCH CONTINUES HER CLIMB INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
Gylian Finch, one of the Mocs’ two four-year players, has an opportunity to add her name to another column in the record book. The Mount Morris, Ill. native is 31 kills away from joining the top-10 list in program history. Kelly Ramsay (2002-05) is currently 10th in program history with 982 career kills – Finch sits at 952. She is currently fifth among active SoCon player in kills and aces (86).
GALLENTINE’S BACK-ROW DOMINANCE
UTC’s starting libero has registered double-digit digs in all 25 matches this season. She led all SoCon players with 5.62 digs/set in October and was the only player to have 200 or more assists in the month. She is also the only libero with 25 or more digs in five matches this season (she had three in October). When she posted 30 digs vs. Samford, it was the most by any SoCon player in a match this season. She sealed the come-from-behind win with back-to-back aces.
ABOUT MERCER
Mercer sits atop the conference with a 10-2 record in league play, overall the team is 14-9. The Bears’ two SoCon losses have both come to Wofford in four sets. The Bears have won 22 of the last 26 sets. The four set losses have come to Wofford (3) and UNCG (1). Mercer’s Rayanne de Oliveria is one of three players in the league hitting above .300 this season, while she’s also fifth in the league in service aces per set. The team sits fourth in hitting percentage (.200) and second in opponent hitting percentage (.165).
LAST TIME OUT VS. MERCER
Mercer came to Maclellan Gym at the beginning of October and fell to the Bears in three sets. The first and third sets were decided by a combined three points, while Mercer controlled the second set, 25-13. UTC outblocked the Bears 9-7 led by Kate Neill with five blocks. In the loss, freshman attacker, Lauren Baker, tied a career-best with six kills and hit a team-high .312.
ABOUT SAMFORD
Samford is coming off a 2-0 weekend at home where the Bulldogs took down Western Carolina and UNCG. On Friday vs. WCU, Kenya McQuirter posted 20 kills, while Kayla Keshock added 50 assists. On Saturday, Samford celebrated senior night, where Lauren Deaton recorded 15 kills in the Bulldogs’ win over UNCG.
LAST TIME OUT VS. SAMFORD
The Mocs trailed the Bulldogs 2-0 after the second set, but prevailed, posting a come-from-behind win in set three before controlling the fourth and fifth sets to clinch the comeback win over the preseason favorites. The Mocs hit .177 in the match, making it the first time this season UTC hit under .200 and won. Four UTC players posted 10+ kills and 10+ digs.
SERIES HISTORY
Chattanooga leads Mercer 18-16 in the all-time series but have dropped its last six contests to the Bears. Samford holds a 33-17 record over Chattanooga, while the Mocs have won their last two.
ABOUT GO MOCS APP
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MORE ABOUT CHATTANOOGA VOLLEYBALL
Watch “Mission First, Family Always” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8mOmxbzHk4&t=2s
Read “Mission First, Family Always” here: https://gomocs.com/news/2019/9/27/general-chatt-chats-mission-first-family-always.aspx?path=general
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