BOWLING GREEN, Ky. --- The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team suffered a pair of 3-0 losses to Western Kentucky and Miami (OH) on the opening day of the Holiday Inn University Plaza Hotel Invitational – hosted by WKU – on Friday afternoon.
 
Following the losses, Chattanooga drops to 4-5 on the season. WKU improved to 4-4 while Miami (OH) is off to a 6-2 start in 2018.
 
Both WKU and Miami (OH) appeared in the NCAA Tournament a season ago and claimed their respective conference championship titles.
 
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Chattanooga will conclude play in the WKU Invitational tomorrow with a 5 p.m. ET match against ACC-member Notre Dame. Live stats are available under the schedule tab. UTC will return home next Wednesday, September 12, for a 6 p.m. non-conference showdown with MTSU.
 
WKU 3, Chattanooga 0
The tournament-hosts earned a straight-set victory in the match after claiming the sets by scores of 25-14, 25-21 and 26-24. WKU advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season after going 32-4.
 
Chattanooga attacked at an impressive .282 percentage but surrendered a .370 clip to WKU. The Hilltoppers out-killed the Mocs by a 38-30 margin and recorded five more digs, 29-24.
 
Gylian Finch, who paced the team with nine kills at a .400 percentage, led UTC's offensive attack. Miranda Elpers followed with seven kills at .389 while Szczepanski and Plumlee each finished with four kills at a combined .438.
 
Elpers also finished with a pair of service aces and a team-high five digs while Jaquelyn Langhaim finished four digs and a team-best 20 assists.
 
Miami (OH) 3, Chattanooga 0
The reigning MAC champions earned a couple hard-fought wins in the opening two sets, 25-20 and 25-21, before rolling to a 25-18 victory in the third to clinch the match over UTC. Chattanooga tied the final set at 17-17 before the Redhawks rolled to on an 8-2 run to finish off the match.
 
For the second straight match, the Mocs attacked at respectable efficiency, but couldn't hold their opposition in check. UTC finished the match with a .233 hitting percentage while Miami closed things out hitting at a .302 clip.
 
Gylian Finch recorded nine kills (.261) for the second-straight match while posting six digs and two blocks. Miranda Elpers followed with seven kills and ten digs to help aid the defensive efforts. Emily Plumlee and Jaquelyn Langhaim finished with six and five kills, respectively.
 
Megan Kaufman notched a team-high 16 digs and provided four assists for the Mocs. Langhaim directed the offense with 19 assists while Dani Szczepanski anchored the defense at the net with a team-high 4.0 blocks.

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