CHATTANOOGA -- The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team earned its second win in as many days as they completed a 3-0 (26-24, 25-16, 25-22) sweep of the Mercer Bears in Maclellan Gym on Saturday evening.
The win for Chattanooga improved their overall record to 13-10 and are now 6-4 in the Southern Conference. Mercer falls to 12-10 and 4-6 in SoCon play on the year.
1st SET | The set started off with both teams trading points back-and-forth as it was tied 9-9.
Mercer then went on a 5-1 run to open up a 14-10 lead forcing Chattanooga to call a timeout. The Mocs responded out of the timeout and rallied to knot the match up at 19-19. Both teams traded five points each for a tied 24-24 score before a service error and an attacking error from the Bears gave UTC a set victory and a 1-0 lead in the match.
2nd SET | The second set saw both teams again going back-and-forth early on as it was tied five times in the first 18 points of the set. With the set tied 9-9, the Mocs went on a ferocious 12-3 run to open up a sizeable 21-12 advantage and forcing Mercer into a timeout. Chattanooga finished off the set 25-16 and took a 2-0 lead.
"I thought we were really great in the second set and sharpened everything up," said coach Travis Filar.
"I think we took control of the match in the second set."
3rd SET | A close set from beginning to end featured 13 ties and four lead changes over the duration. The set was all square at 11-11, 13-13, 14-14, 15-15, 16-16, 18-18 and 19-19 before Chattanooga closed the set, and match, on a 6-3 run.
"It was another big win, I like our toughness. It's a mark of a team getting better and we definitely improved this weekend. I'm really excited for the kids," added Filar.
The Mocs won the offensive battle in convincing fashion as they out-hit the Bears .233-.163 and totaled more kills at a 44-28 advantage. Defensively, Chattanooga out-dug their opponent 53-49 and out-blocked 7.0-6.0. It was the fourth match in a row the Mocs won the blocking battle at the net.
Kristy Wieser (Lincoln, Neb.) had a historic day offensively as she totaled 16 kills at an impressive .556 percentage as it marked the highest attacking percentage in a match for a Moc with at least 15 kills. Brianna Anderson (Austin, Texas) continued her strong offensive attack from the night before as she totaled 10 kills. Miranda Elpers (Louisville, Ky.) added seven kills and Emily Plumlee (Chesapeake, Va.) chipped in with six.
Lauren Greenspoon (Houston, Texas) led the team with 22 assists and Madison Bergren (Muncie, Ind.) followed with 17.
Defensively, Rachel Petkosh (Merritt Island, Fla.) led the Mocs with 15 digs. Dani Szczepanski (Cincinnati, Ohio) was outstanding at the net with 5.0 total blocks and has now racked up 23.0 blocks in her last four matches. Plumlee followed with 3.0 total blocks.
"I told the team we will have to be road warriors coming up with our schedule. We're excited to be on the road and become more of a team. We're trying to get better every single day and play our best volleyball come November."
Chattanooga will begin its four-match road trip on Friday, Oct. 28, with a 6 p.m. match in Greenville, S.C., against Furman. Live video and stats will be available on GoMocs.com and previews as well as the Mocs weekly notes will be published leading up to the match.