EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. --- The Chattanooga volleyball team hits the road once more as non-conference play wages on, as the Mocs are set to travel to Edwardsville, Illinois, to take part in the 2024 SIUE Cougar Classic, set to run September 13-14.
The Mocs (6-2) took a five-set loss on the chin on Tuesday, but now will have a chance to regroup with a trio of matches against the likes of SIUE (1-5), Bellarmine (1-5) and Murray State (3-3). The tournament serves as the penultimate non-conference tournament of the Mocs' 2024 season.
UTC's weekend will start on Friday, September 13, with the Mocs set to square off against tournament host SIUE at 1 p.m. ET. Later that same day, Chattanooga will match up with Bellarmine at 6 p.m. ET. The Mocs' tournament then wraps up on Saturday, September 14 at 12 p.m. ET with a match against Murray State.
All three matches will have live stats available to fans, but only Friday's match against SIUE will be available to stream on ESPN+. The SIUE Cougar Classic tournament is a ticketed event, and fans looking to cheer on the Mocs in-person can purchase tickets for the weekend at THIS LINK.
MATCH CENTRAL
Friday, September 13 | at SIUE | 1 p.m. ET | Stats | Stream
Friday, September 13 | vs. Bellarmine | 6 p.m. ET | Stats
Saturday, September 14 | vs. Murray State | 12 p.m. ET | Stats
SERIES HISTORY
SIUE: 2-0 (Last time: September 8, 2017 – 3-1 W)
Bellarmine: First-ever meeting
Murray State: 1-4 (Last time: September 8, 2023 – 3-2 W)
LEADING THE NATION
Senior setter Elaine Redman has been on a war path to open the year for the Mocs, helping to orchestrate UTC's offense to a 6-2 start to the season. As of September 11, Redman actively ranks first in the ENTIRE NCAA when it comes to total assists this season, with the Chattanooga native having notched 331 on the young season. Redman is currently averaging 41.38 per match and 10.03 per set on the year. She also ranks 51st in the nation in terms of assists/set.
REDMAN CONTINUES TO DAZZLE
Redman has put on a clinic over the team's first eight matches of the season, with Redman logging monster assist totals as she feeds UTC's offensive weapons. Currently ranked first in the entire NCAA when it comes to total assists, Redman was awarded the title of Chattanooga Classic MVP following a weekend in which she logged 150 total assists (50 assists/match) for the Mocs. She currently sits at 331 assists (10.03 assists/set) this season.
MOCS BRING HOME TWO SOCON POTW HONORS
UTC was seeing double this week in the Southern Conference's Player of the Week release on Monday, as both Elaine Redman and Kynli Kirkendoll were recognized as SoCon Setter and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively. Redman has now officially tied her teammate Paige Gallentine for the most So- con POTW awards won in a career in program history, having amassed seven with the Mocs. Kirkendoll on the other hand received the very-first SoCon POTW honor of her young career.
ALL-TOURNAMENT NODS FOR JACKWIN & KIRKENDOLL
Another tournament came and went for the Mocs, and two UTC players ended up taking home some All-Tournament hardware following an undefeated weekend at the Chattanooga Classic. Sydney Jackwin and Kynli Kirkendoll both received spots on the All-Tournament Team following two stellar weekends for the Mocs. This marks the second consecutive tournament that Jack- win has taken home All-Tournament honors from, while Kirkendoll notched her very-first collegiate honor of her young career
ABOUT SIUE
The Cougars enter their home tournament on a losing skid as they prepare to host UTC this weekend. Following a season-opening sweep against Eastern Michigan, SIUE has dropped matches against Valparaiso, IU Indy, Northern Iowa, North Dakota and North Dakota State. Many of these matches were dropped in heartbreaking fashion, with each going four or five sets in length. Playing in their home gym for the first time this season, SIUE will aim to emulate their home success from a year ago, with the Cougars having ended their 2023 campaign with a record of 8-3 when playing in Edwardsville. SIUE's primary strength comes on the block, as the Cougars currently lead the Ohio Valley Conference with an average of 2.27 blocks/set as a team. While much of the team's success in the category can be credited to freshman middle blocker Taya Nordmann, who currently leads the OVC in total blocks (30) and blocks/set (1.15) this season, there are multiple front row presences that UTC will need to be mindful of. In total, SIUE has a total of six players on roster including Nordmann that have recorded at least 10 blocks already on the year.
ABOUT BELLARMINE
Much like the aforementioned SIUE team, Bellarmine has struggled to find its footing early-on in the 2024 season with the Knights sitting 1-5 heading into this weekend. After starting 0-3, the Knights were able to notch their lone win of the season this past weekend with a 3-1 home victory over UAB. While Bellarmine ranks near the bottom of the ASUN in nearly every stat category, the Mocs will still need to be on the lookout for the Knights' big hitters, specifically Natalie Bland. Only in her sophomore season at Bellarmine, Bland is averaging 3.67 kills/set on the season to not only pace the Knights but rank third in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Bland is joined by fellow sophomore and outside/right-side hitter hybrid Maddie Hagan, who ranks second on the team in kills with 51 on the year. Hagan's hitting percentage of .288 is what truly stands out about the Louisville native, as it ranks as one of the best splits in the conference.
ABOUT MURRAY STATE
Despite an 0-3 start to their year, Murray State has seemingly found its groove under the program's winningest head coach David Schwepker, with the Racers entering the Cougar Classic on a three-match win streak following victories over NC Central, Elon and UNCG. Over the course of MSU's win streak, outside hitter Ella Vogel has been able to shoulder much of the offensive load for the Racers, as she leads the team with 105 total kills (4.57 kills/set) this season. Vogel is coming off a career weekend at the Elon Phoenix Classic, where she ultimately was named Tournament MVP after recording double-digit kills in each of Murray State's three victories enroute to the tournament title. Vogel's kill total currently ranks second in the Missouri Valley Conference. Setter Bailey DeMier has helped Vogel position herself as one of the best attackers in the MVC this season, as DeMier's 9.58 assists/set average ranks third in the conference.
CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
- Elaine Redman has officially moved up into seventh all-time in career assists for Chattanooga, having logged 2,205 assists during her time with the Mocs. Redman is now 390 assists off tying Emily McGinnis (2001-03) for sixth on the program's all-time leaderboard.
- Redman's career assist total currently sits at 3,262 when including her time at Toledo. She ranks 25th on the NCAA Division I active career assists leaderboard.
- Paige Gallentine sits 81 digs away from tying herself for second in program history in career digs. She has 2,234.
- Gallentine also now officially ranks ninth in program history in career aces with 110. She needs just one more to tie Dina Parris (1984-87) for eighth all-time. The next highest Moc is Katy Lusetti (1997-00) who logged 113 career aces.
- Marcelle Baez-Carlo needs 56 total blocks to officially enter UTC's Top 10 in career blocks (she currently has 214).
- Baez-Carlo is also 28 block assists from entering that UTC Top 10 list as well.
- Ashley Taylor needs one more solo block to log her 50th at the Division I level.
- Julie Torbett Thomas needs eight more wins to reach 50 head coaching victories while at Chattanooga. She currently sits at 510 head coaching wins all-time.
- Chandler Alter needs another 23 more digs to tie her previous single-season high of 99 digs, which she initially recorded during the 2021 season.
- Sydney Jackwin is 23 kills away from recording her 500th career kill. 103 of her 477 have come with Chattanooga.
- Redman is nine aces away from her 100th of her career.
LIGHT AT THE END OF THE NON-CON TUNNEL
Following the conclusion of the CIUE Cougar Classic this weekend, the Mocs will officially have just one more non-conference tournament consisting of two matches before opening Southern Conference action on September 26 in Spartanburg. UTC's final set of non-conference matches are set for September 19, when the team travels to Blacksburg, Virginia for the Virginia Tech Classic. After opening the day with a 12 p.m. ET match against Rider, the Mocs will face off with ACC foe Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. ET.
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. The next marketing promotions coming up at Maclellan Gymnasium include Academic Night for UTC's September 29 contest against Samford, followed by an October 8 matchup with Alabama A&M that will serve as a "Get'cha Head in the Game Night" inspired by High School Musical. A full list and schedule of this season's marketing promotions for UTC volleyball can be found HERE.
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