The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team hits the highway to square off with Furman Friday at 6:00 p.m. (E.D.T.) in Greenville, S.C., and The Citadel Saturday at Noon in Charleston, S.C. UTC is in the midst of a historic season with the program's best start at 15-2 and on an 11-match winning streak.
"We play very
connected and together," head coach Travis Filar stated. "The front row to back row connection, our
passer to setter to hitting connection, is phenomenal.
You can't scout the intangible strength of our team playing as together as possible."
Chattanooga is coming off two Southern Conference wins last week over Wofford (3-0) and Mercer (3-1) making the Mocs the only undefeated team in league action at 4-0.
UTC leads the conference in assists per set (13.33), digs per set (17.57), hitting percentage (.268) and kills per set (14.11).
"If I was scouting us, it'd be hard to focus on one thing," said Filar. "I think our strength is the balance in our offense. All of our attackers can score points and put pressure on our opponent. We've got great depth."
Sophomore Lauren Greenspoon (Houston, Texas) was named the SoCon Offensive Player of the Month for September. She leads the league in assists per set with 11.50 and boasts a national ranking at No. 13.
Senior Catherine Chason (Alpharetta, Ga.) is second in the conference and ranked 48th nationally with digs per set (4.77). Additionally, she has moved to third in the conference and 90th nationally for aces per set (0.38).
The Mocs are the only team in the league with two student-athletes ranked nationally for their hitting percentage. Senior Lauren Gainer (Boca Raton, Fla.) boasts a .363 clip at 77th, and junior Kristy Wieser(Lincoln, Neb.) follows at 92nd with a .354.
"We're not making the match against Furman bigger than what it is, which is the next conference match," Filar explained. "Our mentality is that this year we've proven and we believe that our team is as talented and as deep as anyone in the conference."
Furman is 10-5 and 4-1 in league play. The squad is coming off sweeps over Mercer (3-0) and Western Carolina (3-0) and a 3-0 loss to Wofford. Junior outside hitter Annie Bierman leads the offense, averaging 4.00 kills per set, which leads the SoCon. Senior setter Jo Wilks racked up 578 assists. She is ranked 17th nationally in assists per set (11.33).
Chattanooga has never lost to the Bulldogs in school history, with a 23-0 series record. The Citadel is 6-13 and 0-3 in SoCon play. The Bulldogs posted losses to ETSU (3-1), Mercer (3-0) and Furman (3-1). Junior middle hitter Samantha
Epsy boasts 332 digs.
Live stats and video links can be found for both matches on the volleyball schedule page at GoMocs.com.
Chattanooga returns home to face ETSU Oct. 16 and Samford Oct. 17 in Maclellan Gym.