CHATTANOOGA --- The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team captured the 2018 Chattanooga Classic title after downing North Alabama, 3-2 (25-21, 20-25, 25-18, 22-25, 15-12), to finish the weekend with a 3-0 record. Both teams entered the match unbeaten in the Classic.
 
Following the win, Chattanooga improves to 4-2 overall and have won three-straight. UNA drops to 2-4 overall in its inaugural season as an NCAA DI member of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
 
Junior Dani Szczpanski was named the tournament's 'Most Outstanding Player' while sophomore Megan Kaufman and freshman Jaquelyn Langhaim earned all-tournament honors. View entire All-Tournament team HERE.
 
Szczepanski's weekend was one for the record books. Playing in all 13 sets, she totaled 44 kills (3.38 per set) on an incredible .527 hitting percentage while totaling eight service aces and six blocks (1 solo, 5 assists). Szczepanski set a career-high in Saturday night's title match with 20 kills at a stellar .731 percentage, a new program record in hitting percentage with at least 20 kills.
 
Kaufman ended the tournament with a team-high 59 digs on a 4.54 per set average while picking up four aces at the service line. Langhaim showed off her versatility over the weekend as she totaled 31 kills at a .333 percentage while leading the team with 78 assists.
 
Chattanooga 3, North Alabama 2
Chattanooga opened the match with a 25-21 win in the first set before falling in the second 25-20. The Mocs would take the third set after the intermission 25-18, but UNA fended off elimination in the fourth with a 25-22 win to force a deciding fifth set. UTC pulled up a nail-biting 15-12 set win to capture the title.
 
Chattanooga totaled season-highs in kills (69), digs (89) and assists (64) as a team. They would add 8.0 team blocks at the net including 14 block assists. Three different Mocs recorded double-digit kills while four found double-digits in digs.
 
Szczepanski led the way with a career-high 20 kills at a .731 percentage while adding a three block assists. Langhaim followed with 17 kills at a .343 clip and helped direct the offense with 26 assists while nearly missing a triple-double, adding five digs.
 
Gylian Finch set a new career-mark in her rookie campaign with 12 kills and also added eight digs. Ally Ford and Mikaela Gauthreaux finished the five-set match with seven and six kills, respectively. Maddie Halsey led the team and set a new season-high with 29 assists and completed the double-double with 12 digs.
 
Kaufman anchored the defense with a team-high 21 digs while freshman Brenna Everingham set a new season high with 17. Miranda Elpers crossed 1,000 career digs during her time at UTC and finished the match with 10.
 
Up Next
Chattanooga will head to Cookeville, Tenn., for a non-conference matchup at Tennessee Tech at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. Game coverage links will be posted on the schedule page when made available.


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