CULLHOWEE, N.C. --- Chattanooga volleyball is set to hit the road one last time this regular season for the team's final two road matches, as the Mocs travel to Western Carolina and Furman this weekend.
In what will prove to be a pivotal weekend for the SoCon standings, the Mocs (17-10, 5-7 SoCon) will take on the Catamounts (8-15, 5-7 SoCon) on Friday, November 3 starting at 6 p.m. ET before heading to Greenville to battle Furman (16-7, 7-5 SoCon) on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.
Both matches can be found on ESPN+ with live stats also available through WCU and Furman's websites.
MATCH CENTRAL
Friday, November 3 | at Western Carolina | 6:00 p.m. ET
Saturday, November 4 | at Furman | 4:00 p.m. ET
Coverage Links: Live Stats (WCU) | Live Stream (WCU) | Live Stats (FU) | Live Stream (FU)
SERIES HISTORY
WCU: 42-48
Furman: 29-50
INSIDE THE SERIES
WCU and UTC's volleyball history can very nearly be considered a coin flip as the teams enter what will be their 91st meeting this Friday. The Catamounts currently lead the all-time series 48-42 over the Mocs, which includes having beat Chattanooga earlier this season 3-1 when they played in Maclellan Gymnasium on October 7. The Mocs will have a difficult task in defeating the Catamounts at home, with WCU having a record of 27-13 all-time when hosting the Mocs in Cullhowee. The Mocs will then take on a Furman team that holds a 50-29 record against the Mocs, including going 25-8 when playing host to UTC. Recently, however, the Mocs have been turning the tide with the last 10 matches being an even 5-5 split, including UTC's 3-0 sweep of the Paladins on October 6 in Maclellan.
SOCON STANDINGS HEAT UP
Just when it seems as though the SoCon Tournament push couldn't get any tighter, it does exactly that. With now just two weekends remaining in the Southern Conference regular season, multiple teams are now jockeying for better seeding as the opening round of the tournament looms. Second place Mercer and eighth place ETSU are currently separated by just three matches in the standings, meaning just about every seed in the tournament remains up for grabs. The Mocs enter this weekend as the No. 6 seed but are currently in a three-way tie with No. 7 Western Carolina and No. 8 ETSU when it comes to SoCon record (5-7). Only ninth place UNCG has officially clinched their spot, with the Spartans' 0-12 conference record guaranteeing them a place in the tournament play-in match. The Citadel, who currently sits atop the SoCon, needs just one more win to secure the top seed in the tournament this year.
ONE OF THE NATION'S BEST
Outside hitter Morgan Romano's impressive resume goes beyond her All-American status and UTC team-leading kill total this season, as the Oviedo, Florida, native ranks second in the entire nation on the active career kills leaderboard across all levels of collegiate volleyball. She currently stands at 1,958 career kills, right behind USC's Skylar Fields (1,969) and leading the likes of Arkansas' Jillian Gillen (1,906) and Houston's Abbie Jackson (1,827).
REDMAN RAKES IN FOURTH SOCON HONOR
After an 83-assist weekend against UNCG and ETSU, junior Elaine Redman took home her fourth SoCon Setter of the Week honor of the season and of her career on Monday. The Chattanooga native has averaged a double-double (35.74 assists, 10.19 digs per match) for the Mocs this season alongside ranking 10th in the NCAA in assists with 965. Redman currently leads all setters in the SoCon with her four POTW awards in 2023.
THE PUPIL CHASES THE MASTER
Freshman defensive specialist Caiti Barthel currently sits at 193 digs in 2023 for the Mocs, just seven shy of becoming the fifth Moc to surpass 200 digs this season. The Indianapolis native has already reached amazing heights by recording the most digs in a rookie season with the Mocs since Paige Gallentine logged 264 during the 2020-21 COVID season. While it may be unlikely that Barthel surpasses her friend and mentor's freshman total, Barthel does aim to model her game after Gallentine's in the coming seasons at UTC. Gallentine just recently crossed the 500-dig mark for her third consecutive season at Chattanooga and is currently riding a 21-match streak of having 10+ digs.
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.
CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
- Paige Gallentine now sits at 1,951 career digs. Ranking fourth all-time, she now needs just 107 to tie Kylie Hunter (1990-93) at 2,058 to enter the program's top three in career digs. She is also 49 from becoming the fourth Moc to record 2,000 digs in her career.
- Sophia Bossong (seven away) is closing in on her 100th career appearance for the Mocs. Chard'e Vanzandt needs just one more appearance to log her 100th across all levels of collegiate competition. She has played 56 in Division I alongside 43 NJCAA matches at Blinn JC.
- Gylian Finch has tallied 1,320 career kills, ranking fourth in program history. She now needs 152 kills to move past Leslee Ball (2004-07) for third all-time.
- Finch's 123 career aces rank fourth in program history. The next highest Moc for her to catch is Allie Davenport (2013-16) at 142 in her career. Finch also needs four aces to tie her previous season-best total of 37 total aces in 2019.
- Elaine Redman needs 287 assists to officially enter Chattanooga's Top 10 assists leaderboard. The junior sits at 1,653 in her time at UTC and 2,627 in her career.
- Redman is 35 assists from putting up 1,000 this season. It would be her first time reaching 1K assists in a season at UTC, second time of her career (1,057 as a freshman at Toledo).
- Morgan Romano is in pursuit of reaching 2,000 kills in her career, as she currently sits at 1,958 and needs to finish her season with 42 more to hit the mark. The Mocs have four matches remaining in the 2023 regular season, meaning Romano would need to average 10.5 kills per match to hit the 2K kill threshold.
- Gallentine needs six aces for her 100th of her career.
- Kate Neill is just two blocks from having 200 in her career. She is also one block away from reaching 50 this season.
- Freshman Caiti Barthel is just seven digs away from logging 200 in her rookie campaign with the Mocs. Her total of 193 digs is the most by a freshman for the team since Paige Gallentine logged 264 in her first year with the team during the 2020-21 COVID season.
ABOUT WESTERN CAROLINA
This year's Western Carolina squad may only be 8-15 on the season, but the Catamounts pack enough punch to warrant any team's full attention on any given match day. WCU is coming off arguably one of their biggest wins in program history, as the Catamounts were able to dethrone The Citadel in a 3-2 victory at home last weekend to hand the Bulldogs their very first loss of 2023. That, paired with another five-set win over Mercer, has the Catamounts entering their match with Chattanooga riding back-to-back victories for the first time this season. Western Carolina is a team focused on shutting their opponents down offensively, as the Catamounts currently rank third in the SoCon this season in blocks/set (1.92) as a team. The WCU defense is anchored by senior middle blocker Eden Punch, who is coming off a 10-block weekend that helped her secure SoCon Defensive Player of the Week, marking the team's first conference POTW honor this season. Punch currently averages 0.92 blocks per set, ranking fourth in the league.
ABOUT FURMAN
Furman volleyball has proven to be one of the top programs of the SoCon in 2023, stringing together a 16-7 record and 7-5 conference record that has the Paladins currently in possession of the No. 3 spot in the standings. Prior to a five-set loss to Wofford last Saturday, the Paladins were riding a four-match win streak that included big wins over Samford and WCU as well as 3-0 sweeps against UNCG and ETSU. Furman is another stout defensive team for the Mocs to match up against, as the Paladins currently rank second in the SoCon in both blocks/set (2.15) and opponent hitting percentage (.167) having shut down the majority of their competitors this year. Leading the charge for Furman is freshman Izzy Castelloe, who currently ranks in the conference's Top 10 in blocks (2nd – 0.93) and hitting percentage (10th - .282) on the season. Castelloe's most impressive feat this season came when she logged a double-double in Furman's win over ETSU on September 23, as the middle blocker finished her night with 10 kills and 10 blocks.
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