CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Chattanooga volleyball has officially hit the halfway mark of the Southern Conference season this week as the Mocs roll right along in league play with a home and road split ahead of UTC's Homecoming Week.

The Mocs will start their week off on Thursday, October 24 by hosting second-place Wofford at Maclellan Gymnasium before hitting the road to travel to Birmingham, Alabama, to take on third-place Samford. The week's difficult SoCon slate marks the second time this season that the Mocs will have taken on either team.

Both of this week's matches will be available to stream on ESPN+ with scheduled start times of 6 p.m. ET. Live stats will also be available for both matches.

MATCH CENTRAL
Thursday, October 24 | vs. Wofford | 6 p.m. ET | Stats | Stream
Saturday, October 26 | at Samford | 6 p.m. ET | Stats | Stream

SERIES HISTORY
Wofford: 34-16 (Last time: September 26, 2024 – 1-3 L)
Samford: 18-38 (Last time: September 29, 2024 – 2-3 L)

GALLENTINE MAKES HISTORY
Paige Gallentine officially moved into second all-time on the Mocs' career digs leaderboard in UTC's match at Wofford earlier this season, with Gallentine now sitting at 2,478 career digs during her time at UTC. When taking into consideration that Lara Newberry, who not only sits atop the UTC career digs leaderboard but the entire NCAA's career digs leaderboard, played during both the 30-point set and rally scoring eras, this means that Gallentine is officially the all-time program leader for career digs for the modern era of scoring (25-point set, sideout scoring). Gallentine needs 11 more digs to officially enter the NCAA's Top 25 all-time in career digs herself, and currently sits second amongst all NCAA Division I on the active career digs list.

TORBETT THOMAS CLOSES IN ON WIN NO. 50
UTC head coach and Director of Volleyball Julie Torbett Thomas is closing in on a Chattanooga coaching milestone as her third year in the Scenic City is now in full swing, with Torbett Thomas inching closer to the 50-win mark as UTC's head coach. Torbett Thomas actively holds a record of 48-39 with Chattanooga, a win total that currently ranks fourth all-time in program history. Currently coaching in her 31st season of collegiate volleyball, Torbett Thomas' all-time coaching record stands at 516-443.

A DYNAMIC FRONT ROW DUO
The front row pairing of Kynli Kirkendoll and Chard'e Vanzandt have taken the Southern Conference by storm this year, not only serving as massive defensive presences for the Mocs but as efficient attackers that can go off at any given moment. The duo make up both of the SoCon's Top 2 positions when it comes to hitting percentage this season, as the freshman Kirkendoll leads the league at .355 this season with Vanzandt following closely behind at .348.

THE RACE FOR THE SOCON RECORD
This year's Chattanooga team has not one, but two of the program's most decorated players competing in their final seasons. Setter Elaine Redman and libero Paige Gallentine have quickly become two of UTC's most decorated volleyball players ever, and the pair currently sit at eight and seven career SoCon POTW awards won, respectively. Redman, who just recently surpassed Gallentine with a SoCon Setter of the Week honor on October 14, now needs just one more Player of the Week award to officially tie herself for the conference record. The SoCon's record holder for most POTW awards won in a single career is Georgia Southern's Martina Veiglova (2001-03), who wrapped up her time having won nine total Player of the Week honors.

ABOUT WOFFORD
Wofford has been a team on a mission over the course of the 2024 SoCon season, with the Terriers currently sitting 6-2 in league play and 14-6 overall to sit second in the conference. Having upset then-ranked Tennessee earlier during the non-con season, the Terriers have carried their momentum from the win right into SoCon action by dominating many of the teams they have come across. Aside from their two losses against The Citadel and Mercer, as well as their 3-1 victory over the Mocs earlier in September, Wofford has swept the five other SoCon matches that they have played. As a team, the Terriers are a well-oiled machine currently leading the conference in kills/set (13.37), assists/set (12.25) and digs/set (18.67). In fact, the Terriers rank in the top half of the league in nearly every stat category aside from service aces/set and blocks/set. Wofford's main star is libero Laney Klika, who actively leads the Southern Conference in digs/set (5.33) this season.

ABOUT SAMFORD
Slotting in right behind Wofford in the SoCon standings is Samford, whose 12-6 overall record and 6-2 league record have the Bulldogs sitting third. The Mocs will have a tall task on Saturday, as the Bulldogs have yet to drop a single match on their home floor all season holding a record of 6-0 in Birmingham. The Bulldogs are a highly efficient team, ranking second in the league in both aces/set (1.79) as well as hitting percentage (.231) as a team. The Samford offense will rely heavily on a two-headed monster that consists of setter Lexi Thatcher and outside hitter Kaleigh Meritt, both of whom rank as some of the conference's finest at their respective positions. Thatcher enters the match leading the SoCon in assists/set (10.56), and her main go-to scoring option to feed has been Meritt as she herself ranks second in the league when it comes to kills/set (3.65) on the year.  

CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
- Elaine Redman has officially moved up into fourth all-time in career assists for Chattanooga, having logged 2,728 assists during her time with the Mocs. Redman is now chasing Lauren Greenspoon (2014-17) for third on the program's all-time leaderboard. Greenspoon sits at 3,316 assists with the Mocs.
- Redman's career assist total currently sits at 3,785 when including her time at Toledo. She ranks 31st on the NCAA Division I active career assists leaderboard.
- Paige Gallentine needs 11 digs to officially enter the NCAA's Top 25 all-time in career digs. She currently has 2,478, ranking second all-time in program history.
- Gallentine also now officially ranks tied for fourth in program history in career aces with 126. She needs another 16 to tie Allie Davenport (2013-16), who had 142, for third all-time.
- Marcelle Baez-Carlo needs 28 total blocks to officially enter UTC's Top 10 in career blocks (she currently has 242).
- Baez-Carlo is also two block assists from entering that UTC Top 10 list as well.
- Julie Torbett Thomas needs two more wins to reach 50 head coaching victories while at Chattanooga. She currently sits at 516 head coaching wins all-time.
- Sydney Jackwin is one block away from 50 in her career.
- Jackwin is two appearances away from playing in her 75th match of her career.
- Breanah Rives is two blocks from the 50th of her career.
- Gallentine is 22 digs away from 2,500 in her career.
- Kynli Kirkendoll needs 54 blocks to tie for UTC's program record for most blocks recorded in a freshman season. Natalie Reiniche's 1995 freshman campaign in which she logged 119 total blocks is the current record. Kirkendoll is averaging 3.10 blocks/match and 0.84 blocks/set this season, projecting her to end the regular season at 93 total blocks.

SOCON STANDINGS
As we move past the midpoint of the SoCon season, the Mocs currently sit in sixth place in the latest Southern Conference standings if the season were to end today. Things are in a semi-holding pattern as the league irons out whether or not matches from earlier this season that were postponed due to Hurricane Helene will be made up at a later date or cancelled outright. This includes one match for the Mocs, a road contest at Furman that was originally slated for October 4. As of right now, here is how the conference stacks up:
1. Mercer: 16-4 (6-1)
2. Wofford: 14-6 (6-2)
3. Samford: 12-6 (6-2)
4. The Citadel: 10-9 (4-4)
5. Chattanooga: 12-9 (3-4)
6. ETSU: 11-8 (3-4)
7. UNCG: 7-13 (2-6)
8. Furman: 7-9 (1-4)
9. Western Carolina: 7-12 (1-5)

2024 PROMOTIONS SCHEDULE
A variety of marketing and fan promotions are being offered this season for the Chattanooga volleyball team, with several home matches providing unique and fun styling and/or giveaways to fans in attendance. In honor of it being Homecoming week at UTC, Thursday's home matchup against Wofford will serve as an Alumni Reunion for the Mocs in which former players are encouraged to make it out to the match and be recognized. A full list and schedule of this season's marketing promotions for UTC volleyball can be found HERE.

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