The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team won their first two matches of the season against the Troy Tojans 3-1 and the Eastern Kentucky Colonels 3-0 to close out the Chattanooga Classic – Presented by Hampton Inn & Suites.
"I was really proud of our team staying together after a really hard loss Friday night and to come back and play as strong, connected and confident as we did," head coach
Travis Filar stated. "We really showed progress throughout the weekend."
In their first match of the day against Troy,
Briana Reid (Houston, Texas) led the team with 13 kills, and
Sarah Batterton (Colbert, Wash.) followed close behind with 11 kills. Reid also paced the Mocs with 16 digs.
Miranda Elpers (Louisville, Ky.) and
Rachel Petkosh (Merritt Island, Fla.) had an impressive debut weekend for Chattanooga. Against Troy, Petkosh recorded the most service aces on the court with three, while Elpers posted two. Additionally, Elpers marked eight kills.
Freshman
Emily Plumlee (Chesapeake, Va.) also recorded her first two kills in a collegiate match.
"To be able to bring in three of our freshmen today, it shows that we can have individuals come off the bench and be ready to go," Filar ssaid. "It's a great group, very talented and very competitive, and that's going to continue to push those that are older in their position to always be at their best every single day."
Lauren Greenspoon (Houston, Texas) posted 40 assists with no ball handling errors.
The Mocs played a notable fourth set, tallying a .355 team attack percentage, which helped them clinch the set 25-11 to close the match out.
Against Eastern Kentucky, Wieser marked a .667 hitting percentage, paired with Batterton at .562.
Greenspoon made 37 assists, adding to 77 for the two matches.
Catherine Chason (Alpharetta, Ga.) marked 15 digs, while Elpers followed with 12.
Chattanooga finished the weekend with a 2-1 overall record.
"We've got to become more aggressive when there's pressure, and we will create that in practice so that we don't ever shy away from it and embrace that pressure," Filar stated.
In the other matchups, Valparaiso beat Eastern Kentucky and Troy 3-0.
Greenspoon and Wieser represented the Mocs on to the Chattanooga Classic All-Tournament team. Valparaiso's Taylor Graboski was named the MVP of the tournament. Graboski and her fellow teammates Morganne Longoria and Emily Campbell were named to the all-tournament team, in addition to Troy's Ali Dowdall and Eastern Kentucky's Ciera Koons.
UTC travels to Starkville, Miss., Sept. 4-5 for the Maroon Classic. The Mocs face Mississippi Valley State, Stetson and Mississippi State.
