CHATTANOOGA --- A match that featured 19 ties and six lead changes with all four sets being decided by three points or less, the Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team suffered a 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 23-25, 25-22) loss to in-state foe MTSU on Wednesday night inside Maclellan Gymnasium.
Â
The loss drops Chattanooga to 4-7 on the year ahead of this weekend's matchups with the reigning ACC-champ Louisville and SEC-champ No. 20 Kentucky on Saturday and Sunday on the road. MTSU improves to 4-6 for the 2018 season.
Â
The match against Middle Tennessee marked the final non-conference home match of the season. UTC will open up Southern Conference play next weekend in Maclellan Gymnasium against Wofford and Furman.
Â
Match recap can be found below.
Â
MTSU 3, Chattanooga 1
A tight match from start to finish featured all four sets decided by three points or less. MTSU claimed the first two sets by 25-22 and 25-23 margins before UTC forced a fourth set with a 25-23 victory in the third. The Blue Raiders trailed the Mocs 20-16 in the fourth before scoring nine of the final 11 points to earn a 25-22 set win and a 3-1 win in the match.
Â
Chattanooga out-scored MTSU in multiple statistical categories, but committed 27 attacking errors and was out-blocked 15.0 to 5.0 in the loss. UTC earned the edge in kills (56-49), hitting percentage (.182-.174), assists (53-45) and digs (76-67).
Â
Four different Mocs recorded double-digit kills during the four set loss.
Mikaela Gauthreaux totaled a career-high 15 kills at a .520 hitting percentage while
Gylian Finch followed with 12 and Dani Szczpanski with 11.
Emily Plumlee finished with 10 at a .500 clip. The four combined for a .391 hitting percentage.
Â
Jaquelyn Langhaim dished out a career-high 49 assists and completed her fourth double-double of the season after posting 12 digs.
Miranda Elpers chipped in with 11 digs while
Bailey Clemons and
Megan Kaufman added 10.
Follow @GoMocsVBÂ on Twitter for the most up-to-date information regarding Chattanooga volleyball.
Â