CHATTANOOGA --- The Chattanooga Mocs (8-13, 4-4 SoCon) volleyball squad heads to South Carolina for a pair of Southern Conference matches against Wofford (10-11, 3-5 SoCon) and Furman (8-11, 4-4 SoCon) on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
 
Friday's match in Spartanburg is slated to begin at 6 p.m. while Saturday's contest in Greenville carries a 7 p.m. start. Both matches will be streamed LIVE on the Southern Conference Digital Network.
 
Chattanooga fell 3-1 last Saturday at Western Carolina after claiming a comeback five-set win over Samford on Wednesday. UTC is currently part of a three-way tie (Furman, WCU) for third place in the latest league standings, trailing only ETSU (7-1) and Samford (6-2).
 
Match notes, quotes and more can be found below.
 
MATCH NOTES
POTW COMMON FOR UTC: Dani Szczepanski was named the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week on Monday .. Second time for her this season earning the award .. Back-to-back weeks with UTC selection (Jaquelyn Langhaim, Oct. 8) .. Third total UTC selection this season, tied for most in program since 1997.
 
SZCZEPANSKI EFFICIENT: Szczepanski leads the SoCon and ranks 29^th across all of NCAA DI with a .376 hitting percentage this season .. She also leads the team in kills (177) and total blocks (42) .. Szczepanski has totaled at least 8+ kills at a .330+ percentage 10 different times this season.
 
ROAD DIFFICULTIES: Chattanooga still is in search of its first true road win of the season .. UTC has only one win away from home (3-0 win over Belmont, neutral) .. SoCon member schools are a combined 16-56 (.286) in road matches in 2018.
 
SOUND OFF
"I am excited to see how we start the second half of conference play this weekend. We have had moments of brilliance during the first half of conference and I believe we will find ways to have those moments be more consistent throughout entire matches and then be able to follow that up during the next match.
 
"I also believe we will get better each of these eight remaining opportunities and will be playing our best volleyball in November. It starts this weekend against two great opponents in Wofford and Furman."
- Travis Filar, Head Coach
 
WOFFORD TERRIERS (10-11, 3-5 SoCon)
Wofford enters the match with a 3-5 mark in conference play after snapping a three-match skid with a 3-1 victory over UNCG last Saturday. Chattanooga defeated the Terriers in five sets during the SoCon opener back on Sept. 21 inside Maclellan Gymnasium.
 
Juniors Catie Cronister and Kara Shacklette lead the Wofford offense and rank in the top five of the SoCon in multiple offensive categories. Cronister ranks second in aces per set (0.41) and fourth in kills per set (3.38) while Shacklette sits third in hitting percentage (.339). Defensively, libero Taylor Gill paces the team and ranks second in the league with a 5.27 digs per set average.
 
FURMAN PALADINS (8-11, 4-4 SoCon)
Furman will host Samford on Friday night before Chattanooga arrives to town on Saturday. The Paladins sit at 4-4 in the league after claiming back-to-back straight-set victories over Wofford and UNCG last week. UTC downed Furman in straight sets back on Sept. 22 in the Scenic City.
 
The Paladins rank second in the conference as a team with a 13.34 kills per set average while sitting third with a .205 hitting percentage. Libero Meg DeMaar, the reigning SoCon Defensive Player of the Week, leads the team and is third in the league with a 4.81 digs per set average and ranks fourth in aces per set (0.40).


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