KNOXVILLE, Tenn. --- The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team allowed a weekend-high 44 kills and .386 attacking percentage during Saturday night's 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-15) loss to SEC-member Tennessee on the final day of the Tennessee Classic inside the Thompson Boling Arena.
 
Following the loss, UTC drops to 1-2 on the season. Tennessee improved to 3-0 and captured the 2018 Tennessee Classic tournament crown.
 
Chattanooga was out-numbered in multiple statistical categories including kills (44-25), hitting percentage (.386-.090), digs (43-27) and blocks (8.0-2.0). All of those were weekend lows for the team from the Scenic City.
 
Dani Szczepanski led the team with six kills on a .500 percentage and was later named to the Tennessee Classic All-Tournament team for her stellar play this weekend. The junior finished the weekend with 18 kills at a blistering .552 hitting percentage.
 
Mikaela Gauthreaux added five kills and a block assists while Miranda Elpers and Gylian Finch chipped in with four kills each during the loss. Megan Kaufman finished with a team-high eight digs.
 
Up Next
UTC will host their annual Chattanooga Classic Tournament next weekend (Aug. 31 – Sept. 1) inside Maclellan Gym to kick off the home portion of their 2018 schedule. The Mocs open tournament play against UNC-Asheville on Friday at 6:00 p.m.
 
Tennessee 3, Chattanooga 0
1^st Set | Tennessee 25, Chattanooga 17
Chattanooga grabbed the match's first point, but that would be the last they found themselves ahead during the opening set. UTC tied things up on two separate occasions at 4-4 and 5-5 ahead of a Lady Vols 8-3 run that put the tournament-hosts up 13-8.
 
The Mocs pulled within two at 15-13 after a Megan Kaufman service ace and a Miranda Elpers kill. UT responded by scoring five of the next six points to pull ahead 20-14. They would eventually clinch the first set 25-17 to take a 1-0 lead.
 
2^nd Set | Tennessee 25, Chattanooga 12
It was all Lady Vols from start to finish in the second set. The team in orange scored the set's first eight points and eventually rolled on a 15-3 run to build the insurmountable edge.
 
The Mocs would battle back to score seven of the next ten points to bring the score to 18-10. During that span, Jaquelyn Langhaim would record a kill and two aces while Dani Szczepanski chipped in with a pair of kills.
 
UT shut down the UTC comeback effort with a 7-2 run in route to a 25-12 set win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
3^rd Set | Tennessee 25, Chattanooga 15
Both teams went back-and-forth early on in the third set, tying five different times within the first twelve points. With the set tied 6-6, the Lady Vols broke out on a 7-2 run on the help of five kills, an ace and a UTC attacking error, to take a 13-8 lead.
 
The home team would continue their strong attack by scoring seven of the next eleven points for a 20-12 advantage in the set. They would close out the set, 25-15, and earned a 3-0 sweep while capturing the Tennessee Classic tournament title.


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