CHARLESTON, S.C. --- Chattanooga volleyball left it all out on the floor in the team's road matchup with undefeated The Citadel on Saturday, as the Mocs took the undefeated Bulldogs to five sets but were unable to pull off the conference upset.
The Mocs (16-9, 4-6 SoCon) threw everything they had at one of the three remaining undefeated teams in the country on Saturday, but the Bulldogs were able to survive the scare in Charleston as UTC fell in five sets, 3-2.
UTC was put into an early hole by the Bulldogs, as The Citadel set the tone with a 25-19 win in the first set to jump ahead 1-0. However, a grinded out second set win by the Mocs leveled things out at 1-1, with Chattanooga taking the set 25-22.
Riding a strong second set performance, the Mocs strung together a dominant run in the third to help propel UTC ahead 2-1 on The Citadel. With a 25-19 set victory, the Mocs now sat just one set win away from clinching a major upset victory over the Bulldogs.
With their backs against the wall, the Bulldogs would not go down quietly as The Citadel put together their strongest set performance in the fourth to help the team level things with the Mocs at 2-2. Now tied with the Bulldogs, the Mocs' chance at dethroning an undefeated Citadel side rested in the all-important fifth set.
The Citadel came out ready to play in set five, pulling ahead 9-3 right from the jump. After a quick regroup, the Mocs started to scratch and claw their way back into the set, throwing everything they had at the Bulldogs. The score read 11-11, with the match coming down to just the final few points.
Even with the late surge by the Mocs, the team would come up just short as The Citadel claimed a 15-12 fifth set victory to maintain their blemish-free record.
The UTC duo of Morgan Romano and Gylian Finch carried the offensive effort for the Mocs, going for a combined 46 kills on the night (25 – Romano, 21 – Finch). Setter Elaine Redman also finished with season-high 54 assists in the match, marking just the third time this season that she's eclipsed 50+ assists in a match.
Chattanooga's defensive effort was led by Paige Gallentine's 31-dig performance against the Bulldogs. Makenzie Jordan (17), Gylian Finch (16), Elaine Redman (14) and Morgan Romano (10) also recorded double-digit digs in the match, with Jordan crushing her previous season-high of five digs from earlier this year.
UP NEXT
The Mocs now return home for a pair of SoCon matchups at Maclellan Gymnasium next weekend, with UTC first playing host to UNCG on Thursday, October 26 at 6 p.m. ET. The Mocs will then host ETSU the following day at 6 p.m. ET to close out the team's brief homestand.
50 SEASONS OF CHATTANOOGA VOLLEYBALL
The 2023 season for the Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team marks a major landmark for the program and the university, as UTC volleyball officially celebrates its 50th season of competition as a university sponsored athletic program. Following the adoption of the Title IX legislation back in 1972, UTC added women's basketball, tennis, and volleyball programs to its roster of athletic teams, bringing on five decades of history for each of the teams.
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