Boxscore
BEAUMONT, Texas ? Senior setter Bethany Herndon (Richmond, Texas) dished out a match-high 41 assists and senior middle blocker Leslee Ball (Sycamore, Ill.) produced a match-high 12 kills to lead Chattanooga (4-6) to a 3-0 victory over Jackson State Saturday evening at the PROS Home Healthcare Invitational in Beaumont, Texas. The Lady Mocs collected their second win of the day with scores of 30-19, 30-17 and 30-28.
Having won its first game of the tournament in five games over UC Riverside earlier in the day, Chattanooga made short work of Jackson State in the tournament finale for both teams. The Lady Mocs jumped out to a 9-5 lead before extending to a 20-12 advantage that was fueled by six kills. UTC quickly closed out the opening stanza victory by a score of 30-19 to take a 1-0 match lead.
In Game 2 it was much of the same as the Lady Mocs pulled out to 7-2 and 12-7 leads before mounting a decisive 14-5 run to extend to a commanding 26-12 advantage. Three kills down the stretch helped wrap up a 30-17 victory for Chattanooga. UTC hit for a mark of .300 for the game.
Down 0-2, Jackson State fought back in the third game, pulling ahead 5-2 and 8-6 in the early going before Chattanooga tied the game at 11-11. The game remained a back-and-forth affair as the teams played to several more ties in the ensuing points. With the score tied at 17-17, the Lady Mocs posted four consecutive points for a 21-17 advantage before the Tigers clawed to a 22-22 tie.
The two teams exchanged the next seven points to make the score 26-25, Chattanooga, before three consecutive kills by Ball helped the Lady Mocs clinch the deciding 30-28 Game 3 victory, and 3-0 match victory.
Senior setter Corrina Cox led the way for JSU with a team-high 27 assists and 12 digs while senior defensive specialist Brittany Lewis finished with a team-high 14 digs. Sophomore middle blocker Erica Greer led the team with eight kills.
In addition to Ball and Herndon's performances, junior libero Lara Newberry (Chattanooga, Tenn.) posted a match-high 19 digs for the Lady Mocs. Senior middle blocker Sarah Bass (Baton Rouge, La.) added 10 kills in 14 attempts for an astounding .643 hitting percentage while senior outside hitter Kelsey Amundson (Houston, Texas) added five kills and nine digs.
For the tournament, Ball led Chattanooga with 52 kills and added 32 digs in 12 games while Herndon posted 123 assists for an average of 10.25 assists per game. Herndon finished the tournament with a total of 82 digs to lead the team.
The Lady Mocs return home to begin their Southern Conference season with a four-game home stand beginning on Tuesday, September 18 when the Western Carolina Catamounts visit Maclellan Gym for a 7:00 p.m. contest.
