JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --- The Chattanooga Mocs indoor volleyball team battled in a marathon finale of the Jacksonville Invitational on Saturday afternoon, eventually falling 3-2 (15-25, 25-13, 27-29, 25-22, 15-13) to Georgia State in non-conference action.
 
Following the loss, Chattanooga falls to 1-5 this season. Georgia State improved to 2-4 on the young campaign following the victory.
 
"Tough loss today. I felt like we played well enough to win and we finally saw some fight in the players as we rallied back in the third," said head coach Julie Torbett.
 
"Our blocking was strong, but so was Georgia State. It's back to work this week."
 
Chattanooga will travel to UNC Asheville on Wednesday for a non-conference matchup before hosting the Chattanooga Classic this coming weekend inside Maclellan Gymnasium.
 
SET ONE | UTC 25, GSU 15
It was all Chattanooga out of the gate as the squad built an early 7-2 lead after forcing six Georgia State errors in the early going. The lead continued to grow and saw UTC take a nine-point edge at 14-5 before the halfway point of the opening set.
 
The Mocs and Panthers traded rallies for much of the final leg of the first set as the team from the Scenic City pulled away with a 25-15 victory and claimed a 1-0 lead in the match. Kate Neill finished with five kills at a .500 hitting percentage in the set.
 
SET TWO | GSU 25, UTC 13
Georgia State scored four of the first five points of the second set to grab a 4-1 lead before UTC brought things back to get within two, 8-6. From that point, it was all GSU as the Panthers went on an 11-1 run to break things open 19-7. The final tally saw GSU claim a 25-13 set win to tie the match 1-1.
 
SET THREE | UTC 29, GSU 27
After Georgia State opened the set on a 10-3 sprint, Chattanooga responded with a 12-3 run of their own to pull back ahead 15-13 before two-straight GSU points locked things at 15-15. The two teams found themselves tied at 20-20 before back-and-forth action took over the end of the set.
 
The Panthers scored four of the next five points to build a 24-21 lead, sitting on set point, before UTC rallied for three-straight points to fight off every set point opportunity from the opposition. GSU held set point twice more, 25-24 and 26-25, but the Mocs attack led by Neill thwarted the Panthers to notch a 29-27 set win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
SET FOUR | GSU 25, UTC 22
Chattanooga continued its momentum early in the fourth set as the team built a 5-2 lead in the first seven points of the frame. GSU battled back to take an 8-7 lead before both teams locked into a 10-10 tie.
 
The Panthers scored the next seven points to extend out to a 17-10 edge and eventually tied the match 2-2 with a 25-22 victory. UTC tried to put together a comeback effort down the stretch after falling behind 24-19.
 
SET FIVE | GSU 15, UTC 13
The two teams traded the first six points of the do-or-die final set before Georgia State found a little wiggle room with an 8-5 lead at the switch. UTC got within one on three separate occasions, 10-9, 12-11 and 13-12, but two of the final three points fell in favor of the Panthers to give them a 15-13 set win and a 3-2 match decision.
 
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