CHATTANOOGA – Maclellan Gym was rocking on Friday night. The Chattanooga Mocs' indoor volleyball team found themselves down 2-0 to the visiting Samford Bulldogs and the comeback began. The following three sets featured 29 ties and 10 lead changes as the Blue and Gold completed a thrilling five-set comeback victory over the SoCon preseason favorites, 3-2 (18-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-16, 15-12).
SET 1 ∙ SAM 25, UTC 18
SET 2 ∙ SAM 25, UTC 19
SET 3 ∙ UTC 25, SAM 23
SET 4 ∙ UTC 25, SAM 16
SET 5 ∙ UTC 15, SAM 12
Samford started off with the lead in the first set and never gave it up. The Bulldogs held a sizable lead throughout the opening frame and after a Chattanooga timeout down 20-14, the Mocs were unable to comeback. The Bulldogs outhit UTC .244-.060 led by Kayla Keshock with five kills and a .571 clip.
Gylian Finch led the Mocs in the opening frame with five kills on 17 swings.
The second set featured five ties and four lead changes, all within the first 20 points. After the set was tied at 10, Samford went on a 4-1 run, forcing the Mocs to call timeout. The Bulldogs continued their run, ultimately taking a 20-13 lead. Samford won the set on Keshock's second ace of the frame. The Bulldogs limited UTC to hitting under .100 for the second straight set, while Samford hit a match-high .263.
The third set was the turning point. Samford had an 11-8 lead but the Mocs' attack battled back with kills from
Maia Rackel and
Kate Neill to retake the lead. The set was back and forth until Samford took a 23-21 lead. The Mocs stayed alive with a kill from
Lauren Baker and then
Liz Tomlin stepped behind the service line. Tomlin served the next three point to close out the match which included an ace, a Samford error and Rackel's third kill of the set. Both teams hit under .120 in the set, but Tomlin's ace and 12 kills for the Blue and Gold forced a fourth set.
Like the third frame the fourth set started out neck and neck. With the match tied at 12, Rackel slotted a kill, putting Tomlin back behind the service line. Tomlin served four straight points to start the spark for the Mocs. Finch recorded her first ace of the match to give the Mocs their largest lead of the night, up 19-15.
After Samford called its first timeout,
Coniah Davis recorded a kill followed by two more Finch aces. The Mocs put the match away behind two kills from Neill and a set-sealing kill from Davis.
The magic in Maclellan continued in the fifth. The match was tied at five as the Mocs sparked the first run of the set, three straight points to force Samford into their first timeout. Out of the timeout, Samford went on a 5-2 run, tying the set at 10 with a kill from Kenya McQuirter. The Mocs won five of the next six points to win the match.
Paige Gallentine recorded her only two aces of the match for the final two points of the contest to cap off the comeback. On her 22
nd birthday, Finch concluded the match with four kills on five swings in the fifth set, hitting .800.
Finch led the team with 15 kills. She tacked on three blocks, one solo and a season-high 18 digs. It's the first time this season the Mount Morris, Ill. native had a solo block. Additionally, her three aces tied a season-best.
Neill and Davis both posted season-bests with 11 kills. The duo recorded the same line with three errors on 28 swings for a .286 clip. The 11 kills for Neill are a career best. Both players also tallied two block assists.
Defensively,
Paige Gallentine continued to dominate the back row. She registered 30 digs, the most by any player in a SoCon match this season. Her two aces which sealed the match tied a season best.
Makenzie Jordan and Tomlin both posted 14 digs to complete the four players in double figures. Tomlin tied a career best, while Jordan's mark is a season high.
Rackel continued her success this season with her 11
th match in double figures. The Signal Mountain native logged 11 kills, four digs and two block assists.
Bossong ran the offense with 49 assists. She completed her line with eight digs and two kills.
Lauren Baker added six digs and three kills, while Marcelle Beaz-Carlo notched four kills and four blocks.
UTC limited the reigning SoCon Player of the Year to a .014 hitting percentage. Lauren Deaton was second on the team with 16 digs and capped off a double-double with 12 kills.
Notes
- After not winning a SoCon match after being down 0-2 since 2018, the Mocs have done it in back-to-back weeks after their five-set win at Furman last weekend.
- UTC defeated Samford in back-to-back matches for the first time since the 1999-2000 seasons. Additionally, it's the first time the Mocs defeated the Bulldogs in back-to-back five-set matches since 1991.
- It's the first time since Oct. 27, 2018 at ETSU the Bulldogs lost a match after being up 2-0. Since Keylor Chan took over the program in 2016, it is the sixth time he has lost a match after being up 2-0.
- Finch became the seventh player in program history to record 3,000 attack attempts. She completed her 21st career double-double and the 46th match with 10 or more kills.
- Neill, Davis, Rackel and Finch all posted 10 or more kills. It's the first time since Sept. 12, 2018 UTC has had four or more players post double-digit kills in the same match.
- This marked the second time this season (Virginia Tech) UTC had four players with 10+ digs.
- Entering the match, the Mocs were 0-9 when hitting below .200. They are now 1-9 and 1-2 in SoCon play when hitting below that mark as a team.
Series history
Samford leads the series 33-17. The Mocs are on a two-match win streak.
Records – CHATTANOOGA (6-11, 2-3) | SAMFORD (3-14, 2-4)
Up next
The Mocs are back at home tomorrow night to host the Mercer Bears. First serve is slated for 6 p.m.
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