ATLANTA --- The Chattanooga volleyball team not only closed out the opening weekend of their season undefeated, but they brought some hardware back to UTC as the team claimed the GSU Invitational title in dramatic fashion with a come from behind victory over host Georgia State on Saturday.
The Mocs (3-0, 0-0 SoCon) got off to a tough start against the Panthers (2-1, 0-0 Sun Belt), dropping the opening two sets of the match. However, the veteran leadership of UTC prevailed as the Mocs chipped away at the GSU lead before finally completing the 3-2 reverse sweep comeback in hostile territory.
"That was a really good team and we had lost to them in five last year so we kind of got revenge from that one," head coach Julie Torbett said. "To get our first tournament championship together just shows that progress that we've made. We're definitely heading in the right direction, and if we can keep that up, I'll be very pleased."
The match opened with the tightest set of the day, as the Mocs and Panthers exchanged blows back and forth trying to get off on the right foot. Despite Chattanooga's best efforts, Georgia State would set the tone by claiming a 25-23 set win over the Mocs to go up 1-0.
"I loved our fight in the first set," Torbett said. "I obviously hated to drop it, but I just loved the scramble plays and the fight. You can do a whole lot when you have players that are willing to give it everything."
Fueled by the tight win in set one, the Panthers carried their momentum into set two behind their home crowd, earning a strong 25-15 win. The Mocs were now looking at a two-set deficit heading into the third, and to keep their title hopes alive they had a lot of work ahead of them.
The third set was a fight from the start, with the score being tied a total of 12 separate times between the two times. Trailing 13-15 to the Panthers, the Mocs then reached the true turning point of the match. UTC closed out set three on a 12-1 run, overpowering the Panthers with stifling defense that turned into an offensive burst that helped Chattanooga get on the board.
Having drawn blood, the Mocs now looked to keep the momentum on their side heading into set four. Several lead changes later, the scoreboard read 21-21 with either defeat or a fifth set hanging in the balance for UTC.
Behind key kills from Morgan Romano and Gylian Finch, along with forcing some errors out of the GSU squad, the Mocs closed out the set without giving up another point, claiming a 25-21 win and forcing the all-important fifth set.
In the fifth set, the last time the score was tied was when the scoreboard read 2-2, from that point on the Mocs were able to control the remainder of the set enough to keep the Panthers at arm's reach. With a final block by Kate Neill, Makenzie Jordan and Gylian Finch, the Mocs closed out the reverse sweep win with a 15-8 fifth set victory.
"Last year we were good at reverse sweeps. We kind of had a thing for them," junior Paige Gallentine said. "We always stay strong throughout those last three sets, always. We never let up."
Morgan Romano would finish the match with a new UTC-high 21 kills alongside four aces, while Paige Gallentine led the team with 23 digs. Elaine Redman nearly set a new career-high with 53 assists on the day, and Kate Neill led the team with three blocks as well.
Both Romano and Gallentine earned places on the GSU Invitational All-Tournament Team for their efforts this weekend, with Romano being named the Tournament MVP. Romano's weekend would end with her logging 51 kills with a 30.4 percent hit percentage, alongside 34 digs, five aces, four assists and three blocks.
"I definitely couldn't have done it without everyone else and this coaching staff," Romano said. "We've been working hard in the preseason, and we came in and put everything that we've been working on into these matches. Everyone's in it and everyone's here for the same reason."
"Awards mean so much more when the team does well," Gallentine said. "What the coaches have done for us, the bench, our trainer, our families and everyone on the court; they all made an impact. It just means so much to be recognized for these kinds of things while our team is also winning because this is so much more than an individual award."
2023 GSU Invitational All-Tournament Team
Morgan Romano, Chattanooga (MVP)
Paige Gallentine, Chattanooga
Amanda Albertini, Georgia State
Izzy Durnell, Georgia State
Kaia Barnett, South Carolina State
Karen Cordero Barr, New Orleans
UP NEXT
The Mocs will now reload before their next road trip to the Charleston Southern Tournament, which is set to run September 1-2 in South Carolina next weekend. Hosted by Charleston Southern (2-1, 0-0 Big South), the tournament will also feature Southern Illinois (2-0, 0-0 MVC) and North Carolina A&T (1-1, 0-0 CAA). The Mocs' weekend will open on Friday with a match against CSU at 12 p.m. ET.
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