CHATTANOOGA --- Chattanooga volleyball returns to action this weekend by hosting the 2023 Chattanooga Classic, pitting the Mocs against three non-conference opponents September 15-16 at Maclellan Gymnasium.
The Mocs (9-2) are looking to close out the non-conference tournament season on a high note, as the team is set to host Eastern Michigan (2-7), Morehead State (5-4) and Gardner-Webb (3-5) over the course of the weekend in Chattanooga. The Mocs will face EMU and MSU both on Friday, September 15 at 11 a.m. ET and 7 p.m. ET, respectively, before closing out the weekend at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday against GWU.
Both of the Mocs' Friday matches will be available to stream on ESPN+, but Saturday's match against Gardner-Webb will not be due to the home football game beginning at 6 p.m. ET. All three matches for Chattanooga, as well as the other three neutral site matches not including UTC, will have live stats available for fans. All matches this weekend are free and open to the public.
MATCH CENTRAL
Friday, September 15 | vs. Eastern Michigan | 11:00 a.m. ET
Friday, September 15 | vs. Morehead State | 7:00 p.m. ET
Saturday, September 16 | vs. Gardner-Webb | 2:00 p.m. ET
Coverage Links: Live Stats | Live Stream (UTC v EMU) | Live Stream (UTC v MSU)
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
A total of six matches are set to take place this Friday and Saturday at Maclellan Gymnasium for the Chattanooga Classic, as the four teams attending will be playing in round robin pool play to determine the tournament's champion. A full schedule of the Chattanooga Classic's matches, streaming and stat links, as well as a brief history of past Chattanooga Classic champions, participants and award winners can be found at the tournament central hub, located here.
SERIES HISTORY
Eastern Michigan: First-ever meeting
Morehead State: 0-4
Gardner-Webb: 1-0
INSIDE THE SERIES
Friday morning's match between Chattanooga and Eastern Michigan will mark the first time that the teams have crossed paths on the volleyball court, in either program's history. Friday night, the Mocs will then meet with their most familiar foe in Morehead State. The Eagles have won all four matches ever played against UTC, with the most recent tie between the two schools coming in 2009. Finally, the Mocs will battle with Gardner-Webb on Saturday to close out the tournament, marking just the second time that the Mocs and the Bulldogs have ever played one another. The Mocs took home the win in the first meeting between the schools in 2015, defeating GWU at Maclellan Gymnasium 3-0.
TORBETT APPROACHES HISTORY
In her 30th season as an NCAA volleyball coach, Julie Torbett approaches history as she now sits just six wins away from her 500th victory with a career record of 494-422. Of her 30 seasons, 27 of them have come with NCAA Division I programs including her two years as Director of Volleyball at UTC.
KICKING OFF SOCON ACTION
The Chattanooga Classic marks the team's final three non-conference matches before delving into their first taste of Southern Conference action by hosting undefeated The Citadel (9-0) and a difficult Wofford (7-2) squad at Maclellan next weekend. These are the first of 16 total SoCon matches for the Mocs, eight of which will be played at home. The Mocs will also travel to Alabama A&M on October 3 to officially close out non-conference play.
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 leads the entire nation on the active career kills leaderboard across all levels of collegiate volleyball. She currently stands at 1,725 career kills, leading the likes of Houston's Abbie Jackson (1,700) and Arkansas' Jillian Gillen (1,699).
CAN I DIG IT? YES YOU CAN
With a digs per set average of 17.38 as a team, UTC currently ranks eighth in the entire NCAA in the category while leading the Southern Conference. Leading the charge for the Mocs is junior libero Paige Gallentine, who currently averages 18.18 digs per match and 4.76 digs per set. Her digs per set average ranks second in the SoCon and 37th in the NCAA. Gallentine is on pace to lead the team in digs for the fourth consecutive season, and currently ranks fifth all-time in program history.
RETURN OF THE MAC
Since the year 2000, Mocs volleyball has a record of 179-127 when playing at Maclellan Gymnasium, holding a home win percentage of .584 during that time frame. In the team's last 20 matches at the Mac, the Mocs are 15-5 on their home court. Coach Torbett currently holds a .786 winning percentage when coaching UTC at home, with the team winning 11 of her 14 matches at Maclellan so far. The Mocs currently sit 1-0 at home in 2023, having defeated Austin Peay in the team's home-opener on September 6.
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.
CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
- Paige Gallentine now sits at 1,645 career digs. Ranking fifth all-time, she is now 124 away from tying Kari Krouse (2000-03) for fourth in program history.
- Gallentine is also 10 matches from her 100th career appearance for the Mocs.
- Gylian Finch has tallied 1,129 career kills, ranking seventh in program history. She is just four kills away from moving past Kylie Hunter (1990-93) for sixth all-time. The next highest Moc is Carol Reedus (1997-00) who sits at 1,180.
- Finch's 104 career aces rank ninth in program history, one shy of Bethany Herndon in eighth. The next highest is Dina Parris (1984-87) at 111.
- Morgan Romano is one dig away from hitting the 1000-dig mark in her career spanning between UTC and Rider.
- Romano also needs to score just 12.0 points to cross 2,000 career points scored.
- Halle Olson is only 20 kills from crossing the 400 mark in her career. 306 of those have come while at UTC.
- Elaine Redman needs 10 more blocks to hit 100 career blocks in her time at UTC and Toledo.
- Chloe Bryan is only five kills away from hitting the 300-kill mark in her career with the Mocs.
- Sophia Bossong is six blocks away from 50 in her career, as well as 23 kills away from hitting 200.
ABOUT EASTERN MICHIGAN
After a slow start to their season, the Eagles of Eastern Michigan have regrouped near the end of the non-conference slate to carry some of their best volleyball into this year's Chattanooga Classic. After dropping their opening five matches by either 3-1 or 3-2 scorelines, the Eagles have been able to go 2-2 over their past four matches by grabbing wins over Western Illinois and Chicago State. Now 2-7 heading into the weekend, EMU will lean heavily on their ability to block attacks to carry them to success in Chattanooga. As a team, the Eagles average 2.1 blocks per set, which is one of the best averages of the teams in attendance this weekend. Four EMU players have logged 19+ blocks this season, including grad student Callie Minshew who leads the team with 24. Minshew also leads the team in kills this season by a significant margin, totaling 127. The next highest Eagle sits at 52 on the year.
ABOUT MOREHEAD STATE
Morehead State will be aiming to return to their form from the beginning of the season this weekend, as the Eagles enter the tournament with a 5-4 record in 2023, the only other team besides UTC with a win percentage above .500 this year. The Eagles got off to an amazing start to the year, sweeping each of their first four matches to start the year 4-0. From that point, however, the team has been in a slight skid, winning one of their past five matches against Indiana State. If MSU can tap into what got them off on the right foot earlier in the season, they are serious contenders to make some noise this weekend at Maclellan. The Eagles will look to sophomore outside hitter M.E. Hargan to help the team return to form, as Hargan has tallied 85 total kills this season averaging 2.66 per set. During the team's hot start to 2023, Hargan was named MVP of the season-opening Eagle Challenge by helping the Eagles start their year with a tournament title.
ABOUT GARDNER-WEBB
Following a season-opening win against Stony Brook back in August, Gardner-Webb has been searching for more consistent wins, earning an additional two over their last seven to sit 3-5 heading into the Chattanooga Classic. In their three wins, the Bulldogs have been dominant, winning each match 3-0 en route to swift victories against Stony Brook, NC Central and Hampton. Now it's just a matter of whether the team will be able to put those pieces together this weekend in their three matches at the Mac. In the back row for the Bulldogs is their most dangerous weapon, sophomore libero Sophia Kotsovolos. The Florida native is coming off of a big weekend where she logged a combined 46 digs (4.18 per set), 14 assists and two aces in the team's three matches to ultimately be named the Big South's Libero of the Week. Kotsovolos has put up double-digit digs in all but one of Gardner-Webb's matches this season, including a season-high 26-dig performance against Bucknell.
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