CHATTANOOGA --- The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team suffered a pair of five-set losses to St. Francis PA (21-25, 25-19, 22-25, 25-18, 15-8) and Queens (NC) (26-24, 27-25, 14-25, 15-25, 15-10) on the opening day of the GATA Challenge hosted by Georgia Southern on Friday afternoon in Statesboro, Ga.
 
Following the two losses, Chattanooga falls to 5-8 overall this season. Queens (NC) improved to 4-8 following the win while St. Francis (PA) upped its mark to 2-9. UTC will face host Georgia Southern tomorrow in the finale at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
 
It was a roller coaster of a day in Statesboro for the Mocs as they continued to show flashes of excellence, but also found themselves struggling to get out of scoring ruts.
 
"We are taking our lumps early. We had a set back today for sure," said head coach Julie Torbett. "We are just playing very inconsistent. I thought Natalie [Tyson] played very well and continues to shine."
 
Natalie Tyson, a transfer student from East Carolina, combined for 43 kills in the two matches on 115 total attacks and committed just nine errors. She posted 25 kills at a .328 attacking percentage in the match against Queens (NC) and ended with 18 kills at a .259 clip against St. Francis (PA).
 
The senior, who is closing in on 1,000 career collegiate kills, also succeeded on the defensive end with a combined 31 digs and upped her kill-dig, double-double streak to seven matches. The performances marked her 29^th and 30^th career double-digit dig matches in her career.
 
Paige Gallentine also shined defensively for the Mocs on Friday as the sophomore ended the day with 60 digs over the 10 sets, averaging six digs per set. She registered 27 digs against St. Francis (PA) before posting 33 against Queens (NC) in addition to serving up a pair of aces against the latter.
 
Chattanooga out-hit Queens (NC) in the Friday finale, .239-.210, recorded four more kills (68-64), posted 17 more digs (99-82), and registered six more aces (11-5) despite finding themselves on the wrong end of the 3-2 decision. The match featured a total of 25 ties and nine lead changes.
 
UP NEXT
Chattanooga (5-8, 0-0 SoCon) rounds out play in the GATA Challenge tomorrow, Saturday, September 17, against the tournament-host Georgia Southern Eagles. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. ET on ESPN+. Match links are located on the schedule page.

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