The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team begins a four-match road trip on Friday at 6 p.m. in Greenville, S.C., with their first matchup against Furman this season. They'll head over to Charleston, S.C., the following day to conclude the weekend with a 6 p.m. match at The Citadel.

"We have gotten better over the last few weeks in practice," said coach Travis Filar.

"That is key to be playing our best volleyball when it gets into November."

The Mocs are coming off a 2-1 week where they dropped a 3-0 (26-24, 25-13, 25-19) match against Samford last Wednesday before rebounding with a pair of wins on Friday and Saturday. Friday's match was a thrilling five-set (25-14, 25-16, 22-25, 20-25, 15-10) victory over The Citadel as Saturday's contest was a little less stressful as the Mocs earned a 3-0 sweep (26-24, 25-16, 25-22) over Mercer.

"I really like how we played last weekend," added Filar. "With this week of training, I feel like our team will bring momentum with them on the road. I think we will do that this weekend and beyond."

Full scouting preview and media coverage for the matches this weekend can be found below. Recent headlines including a 130-match streak, a senior who attacks at a highly efficient rate and SoCon Tournament information can be found in our Chattanooga volleyball weekly notes, HERE.

Scouting: Furman Paladins
Match Time: Friday, October 28, 6:00 p.m.
Live Video: HERE (SoCon Digital Network)
Live Stats: HERE
Overall Record: 9-13
SoCon Record: 5-5
Home Record: 5-1
Head Coach: Michelle Young
Assistant Coaches: Courtney Leagans, Natalie Braun
 
Furman enters the match against Chattanooga with a 9-13 overall record and an even 5-5 mark in SoCon play. The Paladins carry a pair of Power-5 conference wins as they defeated Auburn (SEC) and Clemson (ACC) earlier this season. Furman started off conference play 3-0 but have dropped five of their last seven SoCon matchups.
 
The Paladins are led by Michelle Young who is currently in her 16^th season with the program. The winningest coach in Furman volleyball history, Young is a four-time recipient of SoCon Coach of the Year (2006, 2009, 2013, 2014). She has amassed 320 wins over her 15+ seasons and has made two NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
Furman is led offensively by Annie Bierman and Taina Joseph as they have registered 244 and 182 kills, respectively, this season. Joseph ranks seventh in the SoCon with a .302 hitting percentage. Similar to UTC, the Paladins run with two primary setters as Ashton Stocker leads the team with 400 assists and Hunter Thompson follows with 329. Defensively, Bierman also leads the team in digs with 228. Joseph leads the blocking efforts for Furman with 69.0 total blocks and a 0.95 blocks per set average.
 
Scouting: The Citadel Bulldogs
Match Time: Saturday, October 29, 6:00 p.m.
Live Stats: HERE
Overall Record: 8-18* (10/28 vs. Samford)
SoCon Record: 1-9*
Home Record: 5-6*
Head Coach: Craig Mosqueda (Second Season)
Assistant Coach: Stevi Robinson
 
The Citadel currently holds an 8-18 mark overall and a 1-9 record in the SoCon. They have dropped the last three conference matches after claiming a five-set victory over Furman on Oct. 16. They will face Samford on Friday before hosting the Mocs on Saturday evening.

The Bulldogs are under direction of second year head coach Craig Mosqueda. In his first season, Mosqueda guided The Citadel to multiple program records as they set new single-season records in total team kills, total team assists and total team digs. He hired assistant Stevi Robinson, who boasts experience with the United States National Team.

The offense is led by Moriah Smith as she is tied for the most kills in the SoCon with 382 kills while carrying a 3.94 kills per set average. The junior currently has posted six 20+ kill matches this season including a match with 35. Samantha Espy leads the team in digs with 414 and Sarah Dobrich leads the efforts at the net with 84.0 total blocks.