BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team fell
behind 2-0 against Virginia Tech (7-4), but battled back following the intermission
to take the third set before the Hokies were able to close out the match, 3-1
(25-15, 17-25, 20-25, 25-15). Junior outside Heather Parman (Ooltewah, Tenn.)
led the Mocs (1-11) with 11 kills along with sophomore outside Jennifer Kuroski
(Acworth, Ga.), who added 10.
"Virginia Tech is an NCAA Tournament caliber team because they are physical and extremely athletic at every single position and they are very well coached," said head coach Travis Filar. "It was great taking a set, but I also challenged them to not be satisfied after taking just one set. We still are trying to find ways to finish matches."
Totaling 28 assists was sophomore Bridget Camacho (Cumming,
Ga.) setting up the Mocs offense. Junior right side Christina Teter (Signal
Mountain, Tenn.) posted eight kills during the match.
Six different players tallied one ace from the service line for Chattanooga.
The defense was led by junior libero Paula Passmore (Merritt
Island, Fla.) with 18 digs. Contributing nine digs was Camacho, while Parman
had eight.
Sophomore middle blocker Aneisha Christie (Alpharetta, Ga.) achieved a career-high
with two block solos. Teter paced the Mocs being credited with three total
blocks.
Virginia Tech's Victoria Hamsher led all players with 16
kills and seven blocks. Registering 29 digs was Morgan O'Neil.
The Mocs battled with Virginia Tech point for point during the
first 18 games of the first set before the Hokies went on a 16-6 run to close
out the frame.
In the second set, Chattanooga tallied 14 kills, but an
efficient Hokies' squad was able to take advantage of mistakes in sealing a
25-17 victory and 2-0 lead in the match The Mocs did score three times with
Virginia Tech on set point highlighted by back-to-back kills by Teter and a
block from Teter and Camacho.
Coming out of the locker room after the intermission, the
Mocs fought with the Hokies exchanging the first 12 rallies before the Mocs
took control of the set in taking a 12-8 lead. A block by Christie and kills by
Christie and two from Blackstock were used by the Mocs to extend the lead.
Chattanooga would go on to maintain a five-point advantage
for the majority of the frame and secure a 25-20 victory. Blackstock led the
Mocs attack with three kills as six players tallied a point in the frame. Both
teams registered 11 kills, but Chattanooga was able to take advantage of eight
Hokie mistakes.
"The difference in the third set was two-fold from a volleyball perspective," said Filar. "We served them very tough and got them out of system. Thus making them one dimensional, and then we were able to successfully defend them.
"The disappointing part is that sometimes it has taken us going down 2-0 for us to be fighting and playing really focused and energized volleyball. We have to understand that if we can have that same fight from the beginning, then we are going to put ourselves in more opportunities to win."
The final frame began with the Mocs taking the first rally,
but Virginia Tech took control of the set scoring the next six points and did
not look back in taking the match, 25-15.
Chattanooga returns to the court on Tuesday with a match at
Alabama A&M with the first serve scheduled for 8 p.m. (E.D.T.). The Mocs
next home contest at Maclellan Gym is on Sept. 28 against Mercer at 6 p.m.
