CHATTANOOGA --- The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team gets set to head to South Carolina for the weekend for a pair of Southern Conference matches against The Citadel and Furman after splitting during the opening weekend of SoCon play.
 
The Mocs will battle The Citadel in Charleston on Friday at 6 p.m. before heading to Greenville to face Furman on Saturday at 7 p.m. Friday's contest will be broadcasted LIVE on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN App while Saturday's match will be LIVE on GoMocs.com, courtesy of Furman Athletics and the SoCon Digital Network.
 
Chattanooga split a pair of home matches last weekend to open up conference play. The Mocs fell in a tough five-setter on Friday against Western Carolina but quickly rebounded on Saturday with a clean 3-0 sweep over UNCG.
 
The opening weekend was a wild one across the board in the SoCon as seven teams split matches including reigning regular season champions and pre-season favorites ETSU as well as last year's tournament champion Samford. Furman was the lone team to go 1-0.
 
Chattanooga was led last weekend by freshman Megan Kaufman, who posted 65 digs in just eight sets played, good for an 8.12 digs/set average. She totaled 42 digs against Western Carolina on Friday which marked the second most in a single match across all of Division I. Kaufman followed with 23 digs in three sets against UNCG and claimed her second SoCon Defensive Player of the Week award of the season on Monday, becoming the first freshman to ever win the award twice in one season. She ranks in the top five of Division I with 355 total digs and a 6.23 d/s average this year.
 
Ally Ford led the offensive attack after posting a career-high 21 kills against WCU and adding 13 against UNCG. She ranks 23^rd in NCAA DI with 236 total kills and 44^th in kills per set with a 4.14 average. Lauren Greenspoon directed the offense with 80 assists in seven sets played, an 11.43 per set average. Greenspoon leads the Southern Conference with a 10.60 assists per set average and ranks 45^th nationally.
 
After heading to South Carolina for the weekend, Chattanooga will return home for a three-match home stand beginning on Friday, Oct. 6, against Samford at 6 p.m. The Mocs will face Mercer on Oct. 7 for a 1 p.m. Homecoming match before hosting ETSU on Wednesday, Oct. 11 at 6 p.m. during a 'White Out' of Maclellan Gymnasium. The Samford & ETSU matches will be streamed LIVE on GoMocs.com.

Full match previews can be found below.
 
Scouting – The Citadel (6-13, 1-2 SoCon)
Series Record: 27-0, Chattanooga
Last Meeting: W, 3-2 (Oct. 29, 2016) – Chattanooga, Tenn.
Match Time: Friday, 6:00 p.m. ET
Watch Live: ESPN3 or WatchESPN App
Live Stats: CitadelSports.com

The Citadel opened Southern Conference play with a sweep road win over Samford, their first time beating the fellow Bulldogs in program history. Since the opening match win, The Citadel has dropped two road matches to Mercer and Wofford.

The Bulldogs are led by freshman Sharlissa De Jesus, who has accumulated 137 kills in 38 sets played (3.61 k/s avg). Defensively, sophomore Caricia Rodriguez ranks fifth in the SoCon with a 3.85 digs per set average.

Scouting – Furman Paladins (7-7, 1-0 SoCon)* as of 9/28
Series Record: 40-25, Furman
Last Meeting: W, 3-1 (Nov. 11, 2016) – Chattanooga, Tenn.
Match Time: Saturday, 7 p.m. ET
Watch Live: SoCon Digital Network
Live Stats: FurmanPaladins.com
 
Furman was the lone member school to play only one SoCon match during opening weekend as they downed Wofford on the road, 3-1. The Paladins will host ETSU on Friday before the Mocs make a visit on Saturday.

Junior Jamila Johnson leads the attack with a 4.30 kills per set average, second-best in the SoCon, while freshman Courtney Hoffman has totaled 94 kills at a .294 percentage which ranks her third in the league.