Chattanooga, Tenn. ?  UTC swept UNCA 3-0 before falling to the Bears of MSU in the tournament finale by the same score.

Chattanooga (2-5) opened their second day action by jumping out to a 10-5 advantage over UNC Asheville (1-8) before the Bulldogs rallied to tie the score at 14-14 in Game 1. From that point, the score was tied six times and the lead changed hands five times as the two teams would be separated by no more than two points until UTC pulled ahead 29-26. Following back-to-back points by UNCA, the Lady Mocs' Julianna Martinez (Austin, Texas) put the game away with a kill for the 30-28 victory and 1-0 match advantage.

In Game 2, the Lady Mocs jumped out to leads of 8-3 and 18-11, before the Bulldogs rallied to within 22-19. That would be as close as they would get as Chattanooga maintained at least a four-point lead to wrap up the 30-24 victory.

Seeking their first sweep of the young season, UTC left nothing to chance in the third game as they quickly powered out to a 17-9 lead behind a 14-6 run and three kills from senior middle blocker Leslee Ball (Sycamore, Ill.). The Lady Mocs would maintain that lead and go on to win the game 30-17 and the match 3-0.

For the Bulldogs, freshman Rachel Guinane and sophomore Kaitlyn McDaniel splits the assists, recording 18 and 17 respectively while sophomore Alysha Greer led the team with 14 kills. Greer was joined by freshman Kelsey Benorden in double-digits with ten kills. Sophomore libero Raquel Miotto and sophomore defensive specialist Brooke Holliday led the team defensively with 16 and 15 digs, respectively.

Leading Chattanooga was Leslee Ball, who posted team-highs of 20 kills and a .447 hitting percentage, and senior setter Bethany Herndon (Richmond, Texas) who finished with a game-high 46 assists. Junior libero Lara Newberry (Chattanooga, Tenn.) led the team with 27 digs and senior Kelsey Amundson finished with 12 kills and 14 digs.

In the final match of the tournament, the Lady Mocs took on Missouri State University (8-2), a 2006 NCAA Tournament team with a 27-9 record a year ago. Chattanooga kept the game close, staying within three points until MSU pulled ahead 24-19. The Bears would extend their lead to six points and close out the game with a 30-24 victory.

Already up 1-0 in the match, Missouri State jumped out to a 14-6 lead in Game 2 and quickly extended that to 26-14. The Bears wrapped up the game with a 30-17 victory.

Chattanooga mounted a comeback in the third game as they recovered from a 10-5 deficit early on to pull to within two points five times before the Bears pulled away for good at 24 -18. MSU went on to win the game 30-25 and the match 3-0.

Sara Thomas and Jamie Adams, both All-Tournament selections for Missouri State, led the Bears with 13 kills each while Katelyn Panzau, the Tournament MVP, posted a team-high 35 assists. Cara Hackman led the team with 13 digs.

Ball led the Lady Mocs with a game-high 17 kills on her way to being UTC's representative on the All-Tournament team. On the weekend, the 5-11 senior posted 55 kills. Herndon added 37 assists and Amundson led the team with 16 digs, followed by Newberry with 15.

Missouri State won the tournament with a perfect 9-0 mark, defeating UNC Asheville, Tennessee Tech and Chattanooga, 3-0 each.

The Lady Mocs will return to action Sep. 14-15 when they travel to the Lonestar State to face UC Riverside, Jackson State and Lamar at the Lamar Invitational.    

2007 Country Inns & Suites Challenge

Champion ? Missouri State University

Second Place ? Tennessee Tech University

Third Place ? Chattanooga

Fourth Place ? UNC Asheville

MVP
Katelyn Panzau, Missouri State University

All-Tournament Team
Jamie Adams, Missouri State University
Sara Thomas, Missouri State University
Amanda Lindgren ,Tennessee Tech University
Leah Meffert, Tennessee Tech University
Leslee Ball, Chattanooga
Kelsey Benorden, UNC Asheville