TROY, Ala. --- The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball squad fell twice, 3-1 (21-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-8) to Murray State and 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-19) to the tournament-hosts Troy, on the first day of the Troy Invitational inside Trojan Arena on Friday.
 
Following the pair of losses, Chattanooga drops to 2-4 overall this season. Murray State improved to 1-3 after the win over UTC, later upping its mark to 2-3 following a win over Jacksonville later in the day. Troy is now 3-1 after its home-opening win.
 
BOX SCORE » Murray State 3, Chattanooga 1
S1 | UTC 25, MSU 21
After trading the first eight points, Murray State forced a pair of UTC attacking errors and laid down a kill to pull ahead 7-4 in the early going. Five of the next six points went in favor of Chattanooga, helped out by kills from Brianna Anderson (2) and Coniah Davis in addition to a Gylian Finch ace.
 
Ahead 9-8, UTC allowed five-straight MSU points before responding with four-straight of its own to knot the opening set at 13-13. Four ties and three lead changes later, Chattanooga found itself ahead 20-19 after a Racers attacking error.
 
Anderson capped off a finishing 5-2 UTC run with her fourth kill of the set to earn the team a 25-21 set win and a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
S2 | MSU 25, UTC 18
Taking the opening point and running with it, Murray State never trailed in the second set and allowed Chattanooga tie the score on just three separate occasions. UTC knotted the set up 5-5 on a Victoria Cerino ace before tying the set up for the second time at 13-13 on an MSU attack error.
 
The Racers grabbed a 16-13 advantage after a 3-0 run, but were quickly answered with a trio of Mocs points for another tied score, 16-16. MSU ran away down the stretch, scoring nine of the final 11 points to claim a 25-18 set win and tie the match 1-1.
 
S3 | MSU 25, UTC 18
Similar to the second, Murray State claimed the initial point and failed to relinquish its lead for the duration of the set. Chattanooga brought the set to even three times in the early going (1-1, 3-3, 4-4), but couldn't find its way over the barrier.
 
MSU rallied for a three-point edge at 12-9 before extending its lead to a sizeable 20-11 margin on the help of an 8-2 run. UTC battled to pull within five at 20-15, but dropped five of the final eight points in the set, allowing the Racers to take a 25-18 set win and 2-1 lead.
 
S4 | MSU 25, UTC 8
Murray State led for the entirety of the fourth set as it did in sets two and three. A quick 10-4 lead out of the gates forced a Chattanooga timeout and set the precedent down the stretch.
 
UTC's closest margin after the slow start was five, 11-6, before MSU ended the match on a 14-2 sprint from that point. The 25-8 set decision clinched a 3-1 match victory. The Racers attacked at a blistering .611% percentage while limiting the Mocs to a -.238% mark in the set.
 
Notable Match Performances: Megan Kaufman (14 digs, 3 assists); Brianna Anderson (7 kills, 6 digs); Maia Rackel (5 kills, 2.0 blocks); Bailey Bennett (10 assists, 6 digs)
 
BOX SCORE » Troy 3, Chattanooga 0
S1 | Troy 25, UTC 15
The tournament hosts, playing in their home opener, exploded out with the match's first six points to grab a 6-0 lead before a Brianna Anderson kill put UTC on the board. The Trojans would extend the advantage to 10-1 ahead of a small Mocs' rally to bring the score to 13-5.
 
Troy would keep its foot on the gas throughout the opening set, never surrendering a lead less than eight. The final tally of the set, 25-15, gave the home team a 1-0 lead in the match. UTC was held to a .143% attacking percentage while Troy attacked at a .286% clip.
 
S2 | Troy 25, UTC 13
After a Dani Szczepanski kill tied the set up 2-2, Troy responded with four-straight points to jump ahead 6-2. An attack error and Szczepanski service ace brought UTC within two before five unanswered Trojan points resulted in an 11-4 edge.
 
Chattanooga clawed its way back to pull within six after block assists from Sarah Root and Maia Rackel added to an 18-12 score. Troy would respond with seven of the final eight points in the set, earning a 25-13 decision and extending its match lead to 2-0.
 
S3 | Troy 25, UTC 19
UTC took its first set lead since the first set against MSU on an Anderson kill before Troy re-gained the edge on back-to-back kills, 6-4. A service error allowed the Mocs to climb within one before the Trojans ripped off a 12-3 run to take an 18-7 lead.
 
Chattanooga would respond and make things tight down the stretch. A fast 11-4 spurt close the gap to just four points, 22-18, forcing a timeout from the home team. Troy would claim three of the final four points to earn the 3-0 sweep behind a 25-19 set victory.
 
Notable Match Performances: Gylian Finch (7 kills, .357%); Dani Szczepanski (4 kills, .571%, 2.0 blocks); Brianna Anderson (4 kills, .300%); Bailey Bennett (7 digs, 7 assists); Megan Kaufman (7 digs)
 
UP NEXT
Chattanooga wraps up play in the Troy Invitational tomorrow afternoon against Jacksonville with first serve schedule for 2:30 p.m. ET. Live stats are available and can be found on the schedule page or by clicking HERE.  

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