CHATTANOOGA --- With Homecoming week in full swing, the Chattanooga Mocs volleyball program returns to its own campus this weekend for crucial Southern Conference matchups against ETSU and UNCG on Friday and Saturday, respectively, inside Maclellan Gymnasium.
 
Chattanooga (8-15, 4-6 SoCon) and ETSU (19-5, 8-1 SoCon) will meet on Friday at 7 p.m. for 'Alumni Night' before UNCG (10-13, 4-7 SoCon) arrives on Saturday with a first serve scheduled for 6 p.m. An autograph session with the team will immediately follow the conclusion of Saturday's match.
 
"Our struggles on the road are no secret, so it definitely is great to be back home this weekend at Maclellan" said head coach Travis Filar. "I think we continue to have good weeks of training and are showing growth in the practice gym, we just have to find better consistency, higher level of execution, and the ability to finish sets with earned points, which I know we are capable of."

"Not sure if anyone is playing better or more consistent than ETSU right now so we have to be clean on our side and control the first contact Friday night, and then on Saturday, we will be fighting another hungry team [UNCG], like us, who are trying to stay in the top half of the conference heading into the home stretch of the season. We have struggled at times of late to find our game, but I still believe in this group and in our ability to compete with anyone in the league and to still be playing our best volleyball of the year in November," added Filar.

UTC volleyball welcomes the return of multiple former student-athletes to Maclellan Gym on Friday evening for Alumni Night. The program will recognize a few members of the 1998 SoCon Championship including head coach Lisa Rhodes during a brief on-court presentation before first serve.
 
In addition to the '98 squad, Chattanooga will host over 20 former volleyball student-athletes during the Homecoming weekend. Some members of the recent 2015 SoCon regular season title team are also scheduled to attend and will be recognized on the floor between the second and third sets of the match.

Match notes, previews and more can be found below.
 
CHATTANOOGA NOTES
ROAD TROUBLES: Chattanooga has failed to win a true road match this season, falling in all 10 chances. The Mocs captured a season-opening neutral site victory over Belmont for their lone win outside of Maclellan Gym in 2018. They have played to a 6-25 record in road matches since 2016.
 
ACES WILD: Chattanooga's service game ranks first in the Southern Conference this season with a 1.49 aces per set average. Six different Mocs have reached double digits in aces this season, led by Jaquelyn Langhaim (24).

PLUMLEE'S LEGACY: Emily Plumlee has totaled 42 blocks (5 solo, 37 assists) this season at a 0.66 per set average, adding to her career totals of 259 total blocks and a 0.84 blocks per set average. The 259 total blocks rank 10th all-time. 230 have come as assists, which sits as the 8th most in program history.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEWS
ETSU enters the weekend in sole possession of first place atop the SoCon standings with an 8-1 record in the league. With a 19-5 overall record and wins over Tennessee, Washington State and Clemson among others, the Bucs sit 43^rd in the latest RPI rankings and have previously received votes in the AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll.
 
UNCG will head to Samford on Friday night before coming to the Scenic City on Saturday evening. The Spartans fell in four sets at home against Western Carolina on Wednesday, dropping its conference record to 4-7 and overall mark to 10-13. UNCG defeated Chattanooga in straight sets earlier this season for its third-straight win over the Mocs dating back to last season.

 
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