CHATTANOOGA --- The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team dropped a tough five-set contest to Southern Conference foe ETSU, 3-2 (25-18, 18-25, 25-16, 23-25, 15-12) on Wednesday night in Maclellan Gymnasium.

Following the loss, the Mocs drop to 11-9 overall and 4-3 in the league. ETSU improves to 9-9 and 5-2 in the SoCon.

Ally Ford led the offensive attack for the Mocs with 22 kills while Miranda Elpers and Dani Szczepanski followed with nine each. Lauren Greenspoon dished out 37 assists to direct the offense.

The Mocs were severely out-blocked, 18.0 to 5.0, and allowed a .240 hitting percentage to the Bucs. UTC attacked at a .114 clip for the match. Elpers finished with a team-high and career-high 26 digs while Megan Kaufman followed with 20.

Chattanooga returns to the court this Saturday for a 2 p.m. match at Wofford in Spartanburg, S.C. The match will be broadcasted LIVE on the SoCon Digital Network, courtesy of Wofford Athletics.

Match Stats & Notes
- Miranda Elpers totaled a career-high 26 digs ... added nine kills and two aces.
- Ally Ford posted 22 kills ... a new career-high ... on a .159 attacking percentage.
- ETSU's 18.0 blocks against Chattanooga was the most the Mocs allowed since Oct. 9, 2007 (College of Charleston).

ETSU 3, Chattanooga 2.
1st Set | UTC 25, ETSU 18
The Mocs jumped out to an early 8-5 lead before maintaining that advantage to 13-9, forcing an ETSU timeout. The Bucs would pull within two points at 17-15 before the Mocs ended the set on an 8-3 run, capped off by a Miranda Elpers kill.

2nd Set | ETSU 25, UTC 18
ETSU returned the early start with a quick 9-4 lead to begin the second set. Chattanooga responded to take leads at 14-13 and 15-14 before the Buccaneers ended the set on a fury. ETSU captured 11 of the final 14 points in route to a 25-18 set win and a 1-1 tie in the match.

3rd Set | ETSU 25, UTC 16
The Buccaneers kept the foot on the gas from the second set. After beginning the set with a 10-9 lead, ETSU rallied for a 12-3 run to push ahead 22-12 before finishing off the set 25-16, taking a 2-1 lead into the fourth.

4th Set | UTC 25, ETSU 23
In a must-win set for the Mocs, UTC responded in a big way. Chattanooga built a solid 17-11 lead during the first two-thirds of the set before ETSU caught up to tie the match 22-22. With the score 23-23, Ally Ford laid down a big kill before an attacking error from ETSU gave the Mocs a 25-23 set win and forced a deciding fifth set.

5th Set | ETSU 15, UTC 12
The Mocs and Bucs traded the sets first ten points, for a 5-5 tie. ETSU scored five-straight to accumulate a 10-5 advantage. The Mocs wouldn't go down easy as they brought it within one at 13-12 before a service error and ETSU kills gave the Bucs a 15-12 set win and a 3-1 win in the match.