Belmont took a 4-1 lead to start the third set, but the Lady Mocs came back to tie it up at seven-all with back-to-back-to-back kills from Kuhn, Scott and Kuroski. At 9-8, Chattanooga took its first lead of the set following a Chastain kill.
The Bruins took control by scoring on six-straight rallies, 15-10, recording two aces and three kills. They went on to tie the match up cruising to a 25-18 win. The difference in the set was that the Bruins registered six of their eight aces in the match.
After the intermission, Belmont opened up with a 8-5 lead. The teams battled back and forth with the lead never surpassing three until Chattanooga scored on five-straight rallies in taking a 18-16 advantage highlighted by kills from Kuroski (2) and Barnes along with a block assist by Kuroski and Kuhn. Belmont continued the pressure in a six-point run of its own to close out the set, 25-20, and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Starting the fourth set, Belmont was strong in taking a 7-2 advantage, but the Lady Mocs would not be denied as they tied the match at 11-all. Then, Belmont rattled off two quick points leading to a UTC timeout.
Chattanooga cut the lead to 16-15, but three-straight points from the Bruins seemed to give them control. The Lady Mocs did not back down, however, as kills from Barnes (2) and Beasley capped a five-point run giving them the first lead of the set at 22-21.
Coming down to the end of the frame, the teams traded points and a kill by Kuroski knotted the score at 24-all. Closing out the set and tying up the match was Chattanooga with a 27-25 victory after scoring the final two points on Belmont mistakes. The Lady Mocs registered 15 kills during the set and both teams had five errors apiece.
"The fourth set was huge," said Rhodes. "We did that behind Andrea's serving again. It was really impressive. I think our passing kind of shutdown earlier, but I think we picked it back up in that set."
In the fifth set, Chattanooga began on the offensive generating kills from Kuroski and Chastian in taking a 3-1 lead and increased it to 8-5 before the teams swapped sides. The Bruins knotted the match at eight after recording two kills before the Lady Mocs called time.
After falling behind at 10-9, Barnes and Parman each knotted the score at 10 and 11, respectively, with kills. Chattanooga scored on the next two rallies in taking a 13-11 lead on a kill by Barnes. Chastain registered a kill and provided the Lady Mocs with match-point at 14-12. Kuroski finished off the Bruins with a hard kill just inside the line giving Chattanooga its first win of the season.
Chattanooga returns to action on Friday at the North Florida Invitational with a battle against the hosts at 11 a.m. followed by Illinois-Chicago at 5 p.m. The two-day event concludes as the Lady Mocs face off with Charleston Southern and Troy.
The first home match at Maclellan Gym for Chattanooga is Sept. 17, a rematch of tonight's contest against Belmont at the Country Inns & Suites Invitational. The Lady Mocs also welcome UCF and James Madison the following day with a doubleheader beginning at 11:30 a.m.