KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team dominated play early on but allowed a late second set surge from nationally-ranked Michigan State which proved to shift momentum during a 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 16-25, 15-25) loss on Saturday morning at the Tennessee Classic.
 
Both teams now sit at 1-1 for the season after MSU dropped last night's season opener to Tennessee, 3-1. UTC has now captured at least one set off nationally ranked opponents in consecutive match-ups, last earning a second set win over No. 4 Kansas in 2016.
 
Chattanooga owned advantages over Michigan State in numerous statistical categories including kills (44-42), digs (55-45), hitting percentage (.188-.187) and assists (41-39). The Spartans out-blocked the Mocs 12.0 to 5.0 over the four sets.
 
Miranda Elpers led the team in kills for the second-straight match after laying down 12. She also notched a team-best 18 digs to record her 23^rd career kill-dig double-double as a Moc.
 
Gylian Finch continued a hot start to her UTC career after recording 11 kills on a .421 hitting percentage while picking up five digs and a block solo. Dani Szczepanski was extremely effective on both offense and defense, totaling eight kills at a team-high .538 percentage while picking up three block assists and a block solo.
 
Jaquelyn Langhaim and Maddie Halsey directed the Mocs offense with 22 and 15 assists, respectively. Megan Kaufman anchored the libero position and finished with 11 digs.
 
Up Next
Chattanooga (1-1) will close out play in the Tennessee Classic tonight at 7:30 p.m. against the tournament-host Lady Vols (2-0). The match broadcasts LIVE on the SEC Network+ and WatchESPN App platforms. Live stats are also available and can be found on GoMocs.com.

#22 Michigan State 3, Chattanooga 1
1^st Set | Chattanooga 25, MSU 21
For the second-straight day Chattanooga came out of the gates in a frenzy. The Mocs built an early 5-2 lead and kept the pace up to force Michigan State into a timeout as they held a 12-8 advantage.
 
The Mocs would roll from that point, scoring seven of the next 11 points, to amass a 19-12 lead ahead of the Spartans final timeout of the set.
 
MSU would pull within three at 24-21, but a Mikaela Gauthreaux kill off an assist from Jaquelyn Langhaim clinched a 25-21 set win and gave UTC a 1-0 lead in the match. UTC out-hit MSU in the percentage column by a wide margin, .353 to .088, and recorded an impressive 17-9 advantage in kills.
 
2^nd Set | MSU 25, Chattanooga 23
The second set would be a missed opportunity for Chattanooga as they controlled tempo for majority of the time, but allowed a late MSU run to wash it away.
 
Both teams traded points early on and found themselves knotted up at 8-8 before the Spartans rattled off five of the next seven points to take a 13-10 lead. Chattanooga responded with a 6-0 run to build a 16-13 advantage.
 
Trading points again, UTC and MSU went back-and-forth as the score added up to a late 23-20 lead for the Mocs. With their backs against the wall, the Spartans rattled off five-straight points on the help of two aces and some miscues from the Mocs to earn a 25-23 comeback set win and a tie in the match at 1-1.
 
Chattanooga out-hit Michigan State .152 to .054 and recorded one more kill at 10-9, but four service errors proved to be the difference down the stretch.
 
3^rd Set | MSU 25, Chattanooga 16
Riding the momentum from the conclusion of the second set, Michigan State jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, forcing Chattanooga into a quick timeout. The Mocs would scrap back to pull within one at 6-5 before a large MSU run.
 
The Spartans went on a long 14-4 on the help of four service aces to build an insurmountable 20-9 lead over the Mocs before closing out the set 25-16 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
For the first time in the match, the Big Ten-power Spartans out-hit Chattanooga for the entirety of the set. MSU recorded a .241 hitting percentage and 11 kills in comparison to UTC's .042 percentage and six kills.
 
4^th Set | MSU 25, Chattanooga 15
Michigan State kept the rhythm and groove on their side of the net in the third as they took an early 7-3 lead in the first ten points before extending their advantage to 13-7 over the next ten results.
 
Chattanooga tried to claw themselves all the way back in the set, but could only pull within five at 18-13 before Michigan State closed the set, and match, on a 7-2 run.
 
It was all Spartans in the fourth set, attacking at an impressive .478 clip while holding the Mocs to a .154 percentage. MSU laid down two more kills, 13-11, while blanking UTC in the block column 5.0 – 0.0.  


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