CHATTANOOGA – The Chattanooga Mocs' indoor volleyball team returns to Maclellan Gym this weekend to host the Samford Bulldogs and Mercer Bears on Friday and Saturday night. Both matches are slated for 6 p.m.

WEEKEND CENTRAL
UTC vs Samford | 6 PM | LIVE STATS
UTC vs Mercer | 6 PM | LIVE STATS

WHITE OUT
The Friday match vs. Samford will be a white out with the first 100 fans in attendance receiving a white Mocs shirt. 

LAST WEEK'S RECAP
Chattanooga (5-12, 1-3) enters the weekend coming off a pair of matches in the Palmetto state. The Mocs went 1-1 in their South Carolina swing with the win coming in a thrilling five-set comeback over Furman. After trailing 2-0 in the match, UTC capped off the reverse sweep, taking the match in five. The following night, the Mocs were unable to bring their momentum to Charleston as the Blue and Gold fell in three sets to The Citadel.

MILESTONES ACHIEVED
In the win at Furman last Friday, second-year setter, Sophia Bossong, eclipsed 1,000 career assists. She is the third active Southern Conference player with 1,000 or more assists. Maia Rackel surpassed 200 digs. She has 91 this season alone which is 32 more than any other season in her four-year career with UTC.

MILESTONE WATCH
Senior outside hitter, Gylian Finch looks to conclude her career by writing her name in the Chattanooga record books this season. She is 134 kills away from being the 10^th player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills. Additionally, Finch has accumulated 2,991 attempts her in career. With nine this weekend, she will be the seventh person in program history with 3,000.

SETTING THE OFFENSE
Bossong has led the charge for the Mocs' offense throughout the majority of the season. She surpassed 1,000 career assists last weekend with 491 this season. She is averaging 7.44 assists per set and 43 kills this season. Bossong also averages 2.48 digs per set, totaling 164 this season. She has eight double-doubles.

GALLENTINE COVERS THE FLOOR
Paige Gallentine has started all 17 matches for the Mocs at libero. She has recorded double-digit digs in every match this season. Gallentine is the only Southern Conference player with 25 or more digs in three different matches this season. She is second in the SoCon, averaging 4.65 digs per set with 307 this season.

AT THE NET AND IN THE BACK ROW
UTC is fourth in the league in blocks (1.98/set) and third in digs (16.12/set). Marcelle Baez-Carlo has been a brick wall at the net for the Blue and Gold, averaging 1.38 blocks per set which leads the league. In the back row, Gallentine is second in the SoCon with 4.65 digs per set. She is the only libero with 25 or more digs in three matches this season.

SOCON PRESEASON POLL
Samford and Mercer sat atop the Southern Conference Preseason Poll and were separated by four votes. Samford was slated as the preseason favorite after winning the tournament for the third straight season. They defeated Mercer last spring in three sets. The two teams shared the SoCon regular season championship. 

ABOUT SAMFORD
The Bulldogs were selected as the Southern Conference preseason favorites for the third time in the last four seasons. Keylor Chan's team is 3-12 this season after a 1-10 mark in nonconference competition. The Bulldogs faced a tough nonconference slate which featured four Power-5 opponents and multiple preseason top-25 ranked teams. The teams began the season 2-0 in Southern Conference play with wins over Wofford and The Citadel, but fell on the road to UNCG and Western Carolina last weekend. Prior to the match vs. UTC, Samford faces ETSU on Thursday night.

ABOUT MERCER
Mercer is 7-8 overall this season after a 3-1 start in SoCon play. The Bears were slated to finish second by the coaches after finishing as Co-Champions last season. The Bears' lone SoCon loss this season came in four sets vs. Wofford. Mercer is averaging 11.63 kills per set and 1.78 aces per set this season. Rayanne de Oliveira leads the team with a .264 hitting percentage while four players are averaging more than 2.00 kills per set.

SERIES HISTORY
Samford leads the all time series over Chattanooga 33-16. The Mocs defeated Samford the last time they met in a five-set thriller inside Maclellan Gym and are 10-12 at home in the series vs. the Bulldogs. UTC holds an 18-15 all-time record against Mercer, but has lost the last five against the Bears. UTC is 8-7 at home against Mercer.

ABOUT GO MOCS APP
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Athletics Department, in partnership with From Now On, has launched a free app that gives fans easy access to the Mocs information they want most. The 'Go Mocs' app presented by FirstBank provides users with live stats, game day information, ticket purchasing, and exclusive Mocs content all in one place. It also includes push notifications, so fans are always the first to know score updates, breaking news and promotional offers.

MORE ABOUT CHATTANOOGA VOLLEYBALL
Watch "Mission First, Family Always" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8mOmxbzHk4&t=2s
Read "Mission First, Family Always" here: https://gomocs.com/news/2019/9/27/general-chatt-chats-mission-first-family-always.aspx?path=general

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