CHATTANOOGA --- Head coach Julie Torbett came away with a milestone victory on Friday night in Maclellan Gymnasium, as Chattanooga volleyball earned a hard-fought 3-0 sweep against Furman to secure Coach Torbett her 500th career head coaching win.
The Mocs (15-5, 3-2 SoCon) were up to the challenge posed by a Furman (12-4, 3-2 SoCon) team that entered the match having won seven of their last eight matches. However, a stellar serving by Gylian Finch alongside a dynamic night by Chard'e Vanzandt helped carry UTC to three tightly contested set wins to earn Chattanooga's eighth sweep of 2023.
"I thought that G's serve (Gylian Finch) was really clutch for us tonight," head coach Julie Torbett said. "We were in some tight spots and some tight sets, and she just gave us that cushion and that confidence to pull them out."
"I attribute all my wins to my players. I've had like 165 players over my 30 years of coaching, so I haven't won any of those matches. They've won them all for me. This is really their victory too. It is a milestone, and what I'm most proud of is that I average about 17 wins a season, which means I'm averaging a winning season every year. That's hard to do in volleyball because everyone's tough, and that was a tough Furman team tonight that's been on a roll."
"It was such a great time to do it and in front of our fans on our home court nonetheless."
The first set saw UTC being put on the backfoot early by the Paladins, as Furman was able to build up a hefty 19-12 lead on the Mocs. However, it was here that the Mocs found their footing, going on a 9-2 run to level the score out at 21-21.
Riding the high of their comeback, the Mocs didn't let up, scoring the final four points of the set to earn a 25-22 set victory to open the match. It would end up being a 13-3 run by Chattanooga to win the set.
After allowing the UTC comeback in the first, Furman looked to rebound in the second, at one point going on an 8-0 run. Nearing the end of the set, the Paladins held a 21-19 advantage on the Mocs looking to level the scoreboard out. Unfortunately for Furman, the Mocs had someone by the name of Gylian Finch back to serve.
Finch, who now ranks fourth in program history in career aces with 122 following this match, unleashed a howitzer of a serve onto the Paladins, recording three consecutive aces for the Mocs to put UTC on set point. It wasn't long after that Kate Neill would put an end to the set for Chattanooga, logging one last kill to give the Mocs the 25-22 come from behind set win once again.
The Mocs once again fell behind early to the Paladins to open the third, with Furman jumping out to an early 5-1 lead. As the set went on, however, the Mocs continued to chip away before eventually turning the remainder of set three into a back-and-forth dogfight. With the scoreboard reading 24-24, the Mocs turned to Marcelle Baez-Carlo and Gylian Finch to get the job done, as the duo slammed home the final two kills for the Chattanooga victory.
With a 26-24 third set win, the Mocs officially secured the 3-0 sweep over Furman, marking the team's eighth sweep of the 2023 season as well as their second consecutive sweep win. Not only that, but head coach Julie Torbett would walk away with win No. 500 for Mocs' efforts on the night.
Gylian Finch's night would end with her matching her career-high of five aces, along with her bringing home a double-double (10 kills, 12 digs) for the Mocs. Morgan Romano finished as the team-leader in kills (15), while Paige Gallentine's 20 digs marked the most for UTC on the night. Chard'e Vanzandt once again hosted a block party for the Mocs, ending her night with the team-best five, one shy of matching her career-high once again.
UP NEXT
The Mocs will now have a quick turnaround to close out their short homestand this weekend, as UTC will play host to Western Carolina (4-11, 1-3 SoCon) Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET at Maclellan Gymnasium. The match, which will only have live stats available and no ESPN+ stream, will be free and open to the public.
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. UTC volleyball will be holding a celebration of the team's 50 seasons of history during the team's pair of home matches October 6 and 7 during Homecoming Weekend.
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