CHATTANOOGA --- The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team's comeback effort fell short in a 3-1 (25-16, 25-22, 21-25, 25-15) loss to unbeaten SoCon leader Furman on Friday evening in Maclellan Gymnasium.
 
Chattanooga falls to 12-13 overall and 5-6 in the Southern Conference following the loss. Furman remains perfect in conference action with a 10-0 record while improving their overall record to 16-7 after the win.
 
After falling in the first two sets of the match, the Mocs forced a fourth set with a 25-21 set win in the third, only the sixth set taken from Furman over their last ten matches. The rally wouldn't continue as the Paladins clinched the match with a convincing 25-15 set win in the fourth.
 
Offensively, the Mocs were limited to a .127 hitting percentage for the match and were held to a .032 mark in the match-clinching fourth set. In the third set win, UTC held Furman to a .077 clip, but allowed the Paladins to hit at a .221 percentage for the match.
 
Furman out-blocked and out-dug Chattanooga 10.0 to 6.0 and 78 to 71, respectively. From the service line, UTC totaled three aces but committed six errors in return while the Paladins evened their numbers out at five aces to five errors.
 
Dani Szczepanski led the way for the Mocs on offense by collecting 12 kills on an efficient .318 hitting percentage. She finished the final two sets with a combined seven kills on a perfect 1.000 percentage. Ally Ford chipped in with 12 kills at a .136 clip while Emily Plumlee added seven kills at .375. Lauren Greenspoon led the team with 22 assists while Madison Bergren totaled 21 to follow.
 
Megan Kaufman led the match with 27 digs while Miranda Elpers followed behind with 15. Five different Mocs recorded a block as Mikaela Gauthreaux and Dani Szczepanski led the team with 3.0 total blocks each.
 
Chattanooga returns to the court tomorrow, Saturday (10/28), for a 3 p.m. 'Senior Day' match against The Citadel. Admission is FREE and the match will also be streamed LIVE on GoMocs.com.
 
Furman 3, Chattanooga 1
1^st Set | FUR 25, UTC 16
Both teams exchanged points to begin the match as the set was tied seven different times in the first 14 points. With the set tied 7-7, Furman used a 7-2 run to open up a 14-9 lead and forcing Chattanooga into a timeout. The Paladins would extend the lead to 20-12 before capping off the set with a block to earn a 25-16 win.
 
2^nd Set | FUR 25, UTC 22
The second set was the most back-and-forth of the four as both teams combined for 13 ties and five lead changes. With the score tied 10-10, Furman scored a quick three out of four points to force UTC to call timeout at 13-11. Following the timeout, the Mocs scored six-straight to take a 17-13 lead before the Paladins answered with a 6-2 run to even things up at 19-19. Tied at 22-22, Furman forced a Chattanooga attacking error and laid down consecutive kills to take the set 25-22 and build a 2-0 lead in the match.
3^rd Set | UTC 25, FUR 21
Chattanooga began the do-or-die set with a quick 4-2 run before continuing the pace over the next couple points to hold a 9-7 lead. After two-straight points extended the UTC lead to 11-7, Furman clapped back with four of the next five to pull within one at 12-11. Chattanooga would score a pair of points in back-to-back fashion just to see Furman once again respond with four of the next five, tying the set at 15-15. A kill from Ally Ford and two Paladins errors allowed the Mocs to gain a 20-17 lead. Dani Szczepanski would later lay down a kill to give the Mocs a 25-21 set win and allowed the match to extend to a fourth set.
 
4^th Set | FUR 25, UTC 15
Chattanooga gained momentum of the match after the third set, but couldn't keep the train rolling. The Mocs led 6-4 in the early going before Furman used a 10-3 run to open up a sizeable 14-9 lead. UTC tried to claw their way back after pulling within two at 14-12, but the Paladins had all the answers to regain a five point lead at 17-12. Furman ended the set and the match on an 8-3 run, claiming a 25-15 set win and a 3-1 match win.