CHATTANOOGA --- The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team responded in impressive fashion after dropping the opening set, claiming the final three sets of the match to earn a 3-1 (20-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-21) victory over SIU-Edwardsville on the first day of the Scenic City Showdown in Maclellan Gymnasium.
 
With the win, the Mocs improve to 6-3 on the year and improve their home record to 29-4 since 2015. The Cougars fall for just the second time this season as they now hold a 6-2 mark in the opening weeks.
 
"We knew coming in that we wanted to respond well this week," said head coach Travis Filar. "We knew all three teams coming in this weekend to the tournament are really good and talented, and we challenged our team to respond."
 
Chattanooga finished the match with a .200 hitting percentage after posting a .242 clip in sets two, three and four. The Mocs held the opposition to a .135 percentage for the match and limited them to .106 during the final three sets.
 
"That's the style of play we're trying to create this year and I told the team it was going to be a great test. To hold that type of team offensively to a .135 percentage and for us to attack them at a .200 clip with how well they play defensively, I thought it was a great team effort," added Filar.
 
UTC was out-blocked for only the third time this season, 8.0-5.0, but tallied more kills (56-47), digs (82-78) and service aces (7-5).
 
"At this point in the season, SIU-Edwardsville was going to be the most disciplined and efficient team we would have faced at this time of the year. I think we matched and challenged them. With how they play, they are very veteran and how they score, how they win ... that's something we're trying to do," added Filar.
 
"Everyone played well, the bench played well and I thought the crowd was electric. It was a great win all around."
 
Chattanooga concludes the Scenic City Showdown tomorrow with a pair of matches, a 12:30 p.m. matchup against Jackson State before a 7 p.m. first serve against Georgia State. (Full Schedule)
 
Match Stats & Notes
- Megan Kaufman led the match with 27 digs … entered the match as the top freshman in NCAA DI in digs per set average … now has 194 digs on the season in just 31 sets … 6.26 average.
- Ally Ford finished with a match-high 16 kills on a .205 average … leads the team with 129 kills in 31 sets this season.
- Lauren Greenspoon dished out a match-high 46 assists … now carries a 10.57 assists per set average in 2017 … highest average of her four-year career at UTC.
- Dani Szczepanski tied a season-high 12 kills on an extremely efficient .458 hitting percentage … leads the team with a .293 percentage this season.
- Sarah Root posted a career-high in kills (10) and hitting percentage (.321) … added three block assists in the win and ranks third on the team with 23.0 this season.
 
Chattanooga 3, SIUE 1
Set 1 | SIUE 25, UTC 20
The Cougars came into the Scenic City Showdown winners of five of their last six matches and brought that momentum into Maclellan Gym early on, pulling ahead 9-5 to begin the match. The Mocs responded in the middle stretch, producing a 10-6 advantage to tie the set up 15-15. SIUE notched three kills and forced a Mocs error to take a 19-17 lead, eventually taking six of the final nine points to claim a 25-20 set win and a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
Set 2 | UTC 25, SIUE 19
Chattanooga jumped out of the gates early after the first set loss, building a 10-4 lead and forcing SIUE to burn their first timeout. The Mocs would take their largest lead of the set, 17-10, on an SIUE attacking error, but the Cougars clapped right back with a 7-1 run to pull within one, 18-17. After a Chattanooga timeout, UTC answered with three-straight points and seven of the final nine to win the set 25-19, and tie the match at 1-1 heading into the break.
 
Set 3 | UTC 25, SIUE 19
Coming out of the halftime break, the Mocs built another 10-4 lead to begin the set on the help of three service aces, two from Miranda Elpers and one from Dani Szczepanski. Chattanooga scored nine of the next 15 points to extend out to a commanding 19-10 lead. SIUE battled back with an 8-3 run to make the set 22-18, forcing UTC to call a timeout to regroup. Elpers laid down a kill out of the timeout before a Cougar attacking error allowed Elpers to clinch the set, 25-19, with another kill.
 
Set 4 | UTC 25, SIUE 21
With their backs against the wall, SIUE began the fourth set with a 10-6 lead and forced five Mocs attacking errors during that span. Chattanooga would chip away at the deficit, eventually tying things up twice, 14-14 and 15-15, before the Cougars scored three-straight to take an 18-15 lead and forcing Filar to call timeout. It proved to be another well called break from coach Filar as the Mocs tallied six of the next seven points to take a 21-19 lead and making the opposition call for a timeout of their own. UTC would bunker down and finish the match off by claiming four of the final six points, marking a 25-21 set win and a 3-1 win in the match.