CHATTANOOGA --- With the first half of Southern Conference action wrapped up, the Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team will make a trip to North Carolina for a pair of road matches this weekend at Western Carolina and UNCG.
 
The Mocs will meet the Catamounts on Friday in Cullowhee at 6 p.m. before heading to face the Spartans on Saturday for a 5 p.m. match in Greensboro. Friday's match will be streamed LIVE on ESPN3 whereas Saturday's contest will not feature a live stream.
 
Chattanooga enters the weekend with an 11-11 overall record and a 4-4 mark in the SoCon after dropping the last two matches in five sets. The Mocs are tied with UNCG and Samford in the fourth spot of the conference standings, trailing Wofford (5-4), ETSU (6-2) and Furman (9-0).
 
Ally Ford led the offense for UTC the last two matches as she totaled 36 kills in the ten sets played. Ford posted a career-high 22 kills in Wednesday's match against ETSU. Dani Szczepanski added to the offensive effort with 16 kills in the two matches on a combined .409 hitting percentage.
 
Megan Kaufman led the team with 37 digs in the last ten sets and now is averaging 5.66 digs per set this season. Miranda Elpers helped anchor the defense as she totaled a new career-high with 26 digs in the ETSU match while adding nine against Wofford on Saturday. Szczepanski posted a season-high 7.0 total blocks on Saturday after finishing with 3.0 on Wednesday to average 1.00 blocks per set.
 
Chattanooga returns to Maclellan Gymnasium next Friday for Bone Marrow Donation Awareness night, a 6 p.m. match against the conference-leading Furman Paladins. The match will be streamed LIVE on the SoCon Digital Network on GoMocs.com. Admission is FREE to all fans.

Full opponent previews, match information and more can be found below.
 
Scouting – Western Carolina (7-14, 2-6 SoCon)
Series Record: 39-38, Chattanooga
Last Meeting: L, 2-3 (Sept. 21) – Chattanooga, Tenn.
Match Time: Friday, 6:00 p.m.
Watch Live: ESPN3 & WatchESPN App
Live Stats: CatamountSports.com
 
Western Carolina enters the match on Friday with a 7-14 overall record and a 2-6 mark in conference play. The Catamounts most recently defeated The Citadel in four sets last Saturday. WCU defeated Chattanooga in the SoCon opener on Sept. 22, 3-2.
 
Senior Katie O'Connor leads the conference with a .360 hitting percentage while adding 175 kills. She also ranks second with a 1.04 blocks per set average. Megan Sanchez leads the defense with a 3.76 digs per set average, seventh-best in the SoCon.
 
Scouting – UNCG (11-9, 4-4 SoCon)* - Entering 10/20
Series Record: 29-13, Chattanooga
Last Meeting: W, 3-0 (Sept. 22) – Chattanooga, Tenn.
Match Time: Saturday, 5:00 p.m.
Live Stats: UNCGSpartans.com
 
The Spartans swept Western Carolina and The Citadel in their last two matches after falling to Furman on the road on Oct. 7. Chattanooga defeated UNCG in straight-sets in Maclellan Gymnasium back on Sept. 22. The Spartans will face ETSU on Friday before hosting the Mocs on Saturday.
 
UNCG is led by this week's SoCon Player of the Week Ashley Muench, who ranks fifth in the conference with a 3.87 kills per set average. Christiana Gregory anchors the defense with a 4.52 digs per set average, third-best in the SoCon.