CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Following its first Southern Conference
victory of the season, the Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team took the first two
sets from Elon (13-7, 2-4 SoCon) and went on to secure a 3-1 (25-15, 22-25,
25-19, 25-21) victory during the Mocs Dig Pink match on Sunday at Maclellan
Gym. Sophomore outside Jennifer Kuroski (Acworth, Ga.) was a force for Chattanooga
(4-16, 2-4 SoCon) totaling 16 kills by the intermission and tallying a
career-high 24 in the match.
"We talked about this week in practice that if we prepared well and fought hard at the beginning of matches, then we would give ourselves the chance to win," said head coach Travis Filar. "To do it at home is better and most importantly, it is against opponents from the north division to get us back in contention. It was a great weekend for our student-athletes.
"I give our credit to all our student-athletes. They bought in this week knowing that we had to work really hard to get better. They showed it this weekend."
Registering 11 kills was junior middle blocker Christina
Teter (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) with 11 kills, while classmate outside Heather
Parman (Ooltewah, Tenn.) and freshman outside Kasey Talley (Boiling Springs,
S.C.) each posted nine during the match.
"I definitely feel that our offense is picking up right now," said Bridget Camacho. "Our hitters made a lot of smart shots this weekend and they are doing a great the job. I am putting up a good ball and they are terminating it."
Chemistry between sophomore setter Bridget Camacho (Cumming,
Ga.) and the hitters was important for the Mocs offense to lead the match
with 56 kills. The Cumming, Ga., native notched her fifth career double-double
with 43 assists and 13 digs.
The story of the match was the Chattanooga defense as it
came up with a match-high 86 digs as four players reached double digits.
Leading the Mocs was junior libero Paula Passmore (Merritt Island, Fla.) with a
match-high 27 digs, while sophomore Andrea Johnson (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) and
Kuroski each posted 11.
"We have worked so
much in going for every ball and the importance of doing that," said
Camacho. "Everyone is hitting the floor and I really feel like it helped
our overall offense."
Another strong area for the Mocs was from the serve as the squad
registered eight aces compared to two for the Phoenix. Freshman defensive
specialist Melissa Green (Boca Raton, Fla.) had two of them along with
Passmore.
At key moments during the match, the Chattanooga blocking game
was a force as Talley and Camacho each were credited with four blocks.
In the first set, Chattanooga took control following a
five-point run providing a 13-9 lead on kills by Kuroski and Parman and a
service ace from Talley. The Mocs would close out the frame, 25-15, on a 12-6 run.
Kuroski tallied nine kills during the set, while Passmore
came up with 10 digs. Chattanooga's offense was powered by 16 kills, while Elon
had just 10.
"To have that success from Jenn was awesome," said Fialr. "When
she decides to be that go-to player, she can take the team upon her shoulders like she has done
at times this year. Today was a culmination of that play. Also, I felt that
Bridget delivered the ball that she needed in crunch time."
The second set went back-and-forth between the two teams as there
were 13 ties and eight lead changes. After Chattanooga earned a 17-15 lead, but
Elon fought back to take a two-point lead, 19-17. A block by junior Meagan Ernd
(Munster, Ind.) and Talley completed a five-point rally that also included
kills from Talley and Kuroski to put Chattanooga up 21-19.
Ending the set was Parman with a kill, 25-22, that put the
Mocs in control of the match heading to the intermission. Kuroski led all
players with seven kills as Chattanooga registered 14 during the frame.
"Our defense was the reason that we were up 2-0," said Filar.
"I felt that especially in the first set that there was not a ball that hit the
ground without fighting for it. Most of the balls did not hit the ground at all."
Elon fought back in the third set and took control with a
five-point rally that built a 13-9 lead. The Phoenix would take the frame,
25-19, forcing the Mocs to regroup, and Elon totaled 14 kills.
The decisive part of the match occurred in the third set as Elon
held an 18-14 advantage and Passmore stepped to the service line
eight-consecutive times to put the Mocs in the lead 22-18.
"It was a never quit attitude," said Filar. "We knew that if
we stopped giving them points, which we did early on in that set. Our defense
stepped up when it needed to the most. Timely serving and great defense allowed
us to tie and take control of the lead.
Chattanooga would go on to close out the match with a 25-21
victory as the Mocs posted 15 kills with Kuroski leading the way with another
seven kills.
The Mocs continue their homestand on Saturday welcoming
College of Charleston to Macellan Gym at 2 p.m. The Citadel come to the Scenic
City on Sunday at 3 p.m. as Chattanooga conducts a post-match autograph
session.
