CHATTANOOGA --- After downing MTSU on Tuesday, the Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team gets set to host the Scenic City Showdown in Maclellan Gymnasium on Friday and Saturday. In addition to UTC, SIU-Edwardsville, Jackson State and Georgia State will round out the tournament field.
 
The Mocs are winners of four of their last five matches and are 5-3 overall on the season. UTC most recently defeated in-state foe MTSU, 3-1, on Tuesday night in Murfreesboro. They'll open up weekend play on Friday against SIUE at 6 p.m. before Saturday's doubleheader against Jackson State at 12:30 p.m. and Georgia State at 7 p.m.
 
"I truly think that we responded the right way with the right mindset after our match against Murray State [3-1 loss] so far this week in practice and in our match at Middle Tennessee," said head coach Travis Filar.

"I also believe we will continue to respond and compete the right way this weekend at home. We have three more challenging opponents coming to Chattanooga."
 
Ally Ford leads the Southern Conference in kills (113) this season while ranking fourth in kills per set average (4.19). She notched her 100^th kill in her 24^th career set played during Tuesday's win over MTSU, marking the fastest to reach 100 career kills in program history.
 
Miranda Elpers recorded her 700^th career dig in Tuesday's contest at MTSU while finishing with a kill-dig double-double of 11 kills and ten digs, her fourth double-double of the season. She currently ranks ninth in the SoCon with a 3.24 kills per set average and is scoring at a 3.64 points per set mark, the best of her career.
 
Lauren Greenspoon, this week's Southern Conference Student-Athlete of the Week, leads the Southern Conference with 271 assists while ranking fourth with a 10.42 assists per set average. Emily Plumlee and Dani Szczepanski were named to the Chattanooga Classic All-Tournament team last weekend and anchors the conference's best blocking team. The Mocs have totaled 56.5 blocks and are averaging 2.09 blocks per set, both the top marks in the SoCon.
 
Megan Kaufman currently sits ninth, second among freshmen, in all of NCAA D-I with a 6.19 digs per set average after entering the week fourth. She leads the SoCon in total digs (167) and digs per set (6.19).
 
"We could not be more excited to play in front of our home crowd once again. We are definitely looking to take full advantage of the last half of our non-conference schedule these next two weekends as we prepare for the most important time of year, Southern Conference play," added Filar.
 
Full scouting previews, match info and more can be found below. The Scenic City Showdown tournament central page can be found HERE.
 
Scouting – SIU-Edwardsville (5-1, 0-0 OVC)
Match Time: Friday, 6:00 p.m. ET
Watch Live: SoCon Digital Network
Live Stats: Link
 
SIUE enters the weekend with a 5-1 overall mark after a 2-1 weekend at their own Cougar Classic. They swept the Fort Wayne Invitational to begin the year, notching wins over Fort Wayne, Quinnipiac and Toledo. The lone loss of the season is a 3-0 defeat to the hands of Tulsa. The Cougars were picked to finish third in the preseason OVC poll.
 
SIUE uses a balanced offensive attack with four attackers over 45 kills and three over 50 kills on the season. All-OVC selection Taylor Joens leads the team with 59 kills on an extremely efficient .346 hitting percentage. Emily Harrison follows with 54 kills at a .314 clip and Ashley Witt has totaled 51 on a .211 percentage. As a team, SIUE hits .232 and holds opponents to a .161 percentage.
 
Scouting – Jackson State (1-6, 0-0 SWAC)
Match Time: Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET
Watch Live: SoCon Digital Network
Live Stats: Link
 
Jackson State heads to Chattanooga with a 1-6 overall record after falling on Wednesday night to Jacksonville State. The Tigers notched a 3-1 win over Nicholls State, but have only claimed one set win in their other six matches. JSU was slotted to finish fifth in the preseason SWAC poll.
 
Camry Dabney leads the attack with 54 kills on a .137 hitting percentage. Alexandra Burney trails with 32 kills while adding a team second-best 10.0 total blocks. All-SWAC preseason defensive selection Tyler Moorer holds down the defense with a team-high 58 digs and a 2.90 digs per set average.
 
Scouting – Georgia State (2-5, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Match Time: Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET
Watch Live: SoCon Digital Network
Live Stats: Link
 
The Panthers of Georgia State will enter Maclellan Gymnasium with a 2-5 record after notching wins over Rutgers and Charleston Southern and falling to the likes of East Carolina, William and Mary, UAB, Austin Peay and Kennesaw State. GSU was picked to finish fifth in the Sun Belt's East Division.
 
Georgia State runs with a balanced attack as three attackers find themselves north of 70 kills this season. Sydney Stroud leads with 79 kills while Morgan Hash and Crystal Lee follow with 71 kills each. On defense, Celeste Friesen has totaled 127 digs with a 5.08 digs per set average this year and Jha'Meisheia Griffin has chipped in with a team-best 23.0 blocks.