CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga played a complete offensive and defensive match securing a 3-0 (26-24, 25-16, 25-22) victory at Western Carolina. After clinching the first set for the first time in three matches, the Lady Mocs rolled to victory led by junior middle blocker Courtney Barnes (Franklin, Tenn.) with 10 kills hitting .526.
"It feels good to win again," said head coach Lisa Rhodes. "And it was great to get over the hump after going through a bad stretch. Not only did we win, but we swept them, which will be very good for our confidence which has been a little shaky at times."
The story of the match was the improved defense that the team played from start to finish digging up 60 balls one by each member of the squad and they were paced by freshman libero Paula Passmore (Merritt Island, Fla.) with 21.
"Our defense is what we usually ride on and it has not been where it needed to be," said Rhodes. "But I think today that the defense did step up. On the front line in our blocks, we were touching some balls, which made it a lot easier for our back row."
Senior setter Cassie Conner (Willow Springs, Ill.) was a key to the win as she recorded 34 assists and dug up 13 attacks posting her second double-double of the season.
Freshman outside hitter Heather Parman (Ooltewah, Tenn.) contributed with nine kills along with six digs. All nine Lady Mocs who played registered a kill during the afternoon including sophomore right side Jessica Scott (Lawrence, Kan.) with six. Freshman outside hitter Kirsten Beasley (Amarillo, Texas) had only five kills, but each of them seemed to come at a key times including the match winner.
Leading Chattanooga, sophomore middle blocker Ellie Kuhn (San Antonio, Texas) recorded a match-high six blocks, while adding six kills. Scott had three blocks and Barnes and Beasley each added two.
"Jessica Scott played a nice match coming in to give us some minutes with great blocking. I think Cassie brought some leadership out there. It was nice to see her run the offense seeing her spread the ball around. She also provided some senior leadership today which is something that some of the younger girls are looking for."
In the first set, the Lady Mocs started slow, but kept the score within reach only trailing by four at the most before tying at 16. The teams continued to trade points up to 24-all, when Barnes registered two kills in a row providing Chattanooga with a 26-24 win. The victory in the set was the first one for the Lady Mocs over the past three matches since sweeping UNC Greensboro.
A tight contest ensued in the second set as the two teams traded points till the Lady Mocs opened a two-point lead at 17-15. From there, UTC scored on eight on the next 11 rallies to take the set, 25-18.
The third set saw Western Carolina take an early 4-1 lead, but Chattanooga fought back to take six points in a row. The Catamounts would not go away though as they tied it up multiple times and the Lady Mocs scored the final two points in the 25-22 win.
"I am really impressed with our aggressiveness today in ending the match on an aggressive kill by Kirsten [Beasley]. In the past, we usually would be sitting back on our heels waiting for the other team to make an error. Instead, we ended the match with a statement saying, 'Hey we can do this.'"
As a team, Chattanooga hit .222 registering 43 total kills including 15 kills in the third set. Western Carolina made numerous mistakes on the day including eight service and 21 attack errors hitting .115.
Next weekend, Chattanooga hosts the College of Charleston and The Citadel with both contests beginning at 2 p.m. from Maclellan Gym.
Chattanooga def. Western Carolina 26-24,25-18,25-22
Chattanooga (10-8, 2-4 SoCon) (Kills-aces-blocks) - BARNES, Courtney
10-0-2; PARMAN, Heather 9-0-0; SCOTT, Jessica 6-0-3; KUHN, Ellie
6-0-6; BEASLEY, Kirsten 5-0-2; BROCK, Laura 4-0-0; CONNER, Cassie
1-0-1; HARVILLE, Stephanie 1-0-0; PASSMORE, Paula 1-0-0; Totals
43-0-8.0. (Assists) - CONNER, Cassie 34. (Dig leaders) - PASSMORE,
Paula 21; CONNER, Cassie 13
Western Carolina (3-18, 0-7 SoCon) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Rebecca
Stoltz 7-0-2; Paloma Alvarez 6-0-0; Amanda Kerr 6-1-0; Kara Lynzee
Brooks 4-2-1; Brittany Lysik 4-0-0; Carrie Minogue 3-0-1; Amanda
Chaparro 3-0-1; Katie Hennessey 2-2-2; Abbey Scroggins 1-1-1; Liz
Rondone 0-1-0; Totals 36-7-4.0. (Assists) - Katie Hennessey 30. (Dig
leaders) - Liz Rondone 21; Katie Hennessey 10; Amanda Kerr 8
Site: Cullowhee, NC (Ramsey Center)
Date: Oct 11, 2009 Attend: 55 Time: 1hr 29
Referees:
