CHATTANOOGA – With preseason work in full swing and the regular season opener at the Tennessee Invitational in Knoxville just under two weeks away, GoMocs.com gives a preview of the 2018 Chattanooga Mocs volleyball program. The second of three installments will focus on the middle blockers and attackers.

Much like the backcourt, the Mocs will return an abundance of veterans in the offensive and blocking attack for the 2018 season.
 
"Similar to our backcourt positional depth, we return a lot of firepower, in fact, every single student-athlete that recorded a kill or block for us last season as a front court player is returning," said head coach Travis Filar.
 
Redshirt junior outside hitter Ally Ford led the team last season with 417 kills and a 3.97 kills per set average, ranking fourth and third, respectively, in the Southern Conference. Senior attacker Miranda Elpers has been a three-year starter for the Mocs and finished with 287 kills on a 2.81 per set average in 2017. She has accumulated 640 kills and 947 digs during her UTC career while appearing in 87 matches and 316 sets. The duo accounted for a combined 54.0 total blocks in addition to the offense.
 
A pair of outside hitter/right side position players, juniors Mikaela Gauthreaux and Brianna Anderson return after posting 72 and 51 kills, respectively, last season while combining to notch 41.0 total blocks. Redshirt sophomore Sarah Root concluded last season with 84 kills on a team third-best .201 attacking percentage and totaled 43.0 blocks.
 
Senior MB Emily Plumlee led the team last year with 111.0 total blocks, picking up 10 block solos and 101 block assists. Her 101 block assists sits second all-time in program history for a single season. Junior MB Dani Szczepanski polished off a great sophomore season by finishing with 246 kills on a team-high .260 attacking percentage while adding 80.0 total blocks at the net.

​​Redshirt senior MB/RS Eden Murray, a captain in 2017, returns after recording 89 kills and 39.0 blocks last year. Sophomore Bailey Bennett returns to UTC and adds depth to the right side and defensive specialist positions after appearing in limited action as a freshman. 
 
"Every returner is stronger than evert in their careers here at Chattanooga, so our power at the net will allow us to be more efficient as blockers, and it will allow our offense to be well-balanced in that we can score from every position, making us harder to defend when in system," added Filar.
 
In addition to the veterans, the Mocs welcome five true freshmen at the outside hitter, right side and middle blocking positions and expect the rookies to compete for significant time on the court in 2018.
 
Gylian Finch (Mount Morris, Ill.) and Nan Parrish (Raleigh, N.C.) list as outside hitters while Victoria Cerino (Brentwood, Tenn.) doubles her duties as an outside and a defensive specialist.
 
Maia Rackel (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) provides depth as a right side attacker and middle blocker while Halli Henninger (Brentwood, Tenn.) anchors the middle blocking position.
 
"There already was a ton of competition at each of our three attacking spots on the court, and with our newcomers, it has just gotten that much tougher and we have seen that throughout preseason camp.
 
"I believe our offense can really grow and improve from last season with our array of attackers and am looking forward to see that development this fall," concluded Filar.

Chattanooga opens up the new season against Belmont at 4 p.m. on Friday, August 24, in Knoxville, Tenn., as part of the Tennessee Invitational. UTC will then face No. 22 Michigan State and Tennessee on Saturday to close out tournament play. All ticket, match coverage and more information can be found on the schedule page.

Full team and season previews will publish on GoMocs.com in the next coming weeks in preparation of the 2018 season.
 
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