CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Chattanooga volleyball came up just short in what was a tightly contested match on Sunday versus Samford, as the Mocs ended up falling 3-2 at the hands of the Bulldogs in UTC's home SoCon opener of the 2024 season.
The Mocs (8-7, 0-2) played an extremely well-rounded match that included swinging at a .328 clip over the course of the five-set match. However, the Bulldogs proved to be just a fraction more efficient overall in the match, outhitting the Mocs with a .349 hitting percentage of their own to help secure a slim margin of victory over Chattanooga.
UTC was put on its heels early by Samford after the Bulldogs came out of the gates connecting on all cylinders. Fighting towards a 27-25 first set victory by the narrowest of margins, Samford was already looking at a 1-0 advantage early-on.
While they were defeated in the opening frame, the Mocs didn't hang their heads for long as they continued to fight through another grueling set of action, swapping leads with the Bulldogs. Once again needing to go beyond 25 points to seal it, this time it was the Mocs that grinded out a hard-fought set win with a 26-24 result.
Now fueled by leveling the score at 1-1, UTC went on a tear in set three pulling away for a 25-19 set win to put the Mocs up 2-1 in the match. This marked the largest set win of the day for either team.
It was now Samford's turn to respond, and respond they did with the two teams battling through to yet another 25+ point set result. In the end it was the Bulldogs that claimed the win in set four by a score of 26-24, forcing a fifth and final set to determine who would be walking away with their first SoCon win of 2024.
Much like the previous four sets, set five opened with the two teams trading blows and nobody giving up more than an inch. At the midway swap, the Mocs were able to just squeak ahead with an 8-7 lead. Unfortunately for Chattanooga, this was where the Bulldogs hit their stride as Samford was able to close out the match on an 8-1 scoring run, winning the set 15-9 and clinching the match in favor of the Bulldogs.
There were numerous stat lines of note for the Mocs, including a season-high 32-dig performance by Paige Gallentine. Elaine Redman (53 assists, 10 digs) and Sydney Jackwin (19 kills, 16 digs) also dazzled for UTC, each notching double-doubles to their belts. Redman and Jackwin finished as team leaders in assists and kills, respectively.
Chard'e Vanzandt (16) and Marcelle Baez-Carlo (15) would each finish with double-digit kills for the Mocs, and Chandler Alter was the fourth and final Moc to tally double-digit digs in the match, finishing with 13. Baez-Carlo's 15 kills came on a blistering-hot .560 hitting percentage in the match.
UP NEXT
UTC will now once again hit the road this weekend for a pair of Southern Conference matchups, starting first on Friday, October 4 with the Mocs heading to Greenville, South Carolina, to take on Furman at 6 p.m. ET. Chattanooga will then meet with Mercer on Saturday, October 5 at 6 p.m. ET to round out the team's one-weekend roadtrip.
FOLLOW CHATTANOOGA VOLLEYBALL
Follow @GoMocsVB on Twitter and @GoMocsVolleyball on Instagram for the most up-to-date information and news regarding Chattanooga volleyball.
Buy officially licensed gear in our online store. The Mocs can also be followed on their official Facebook page or on Twitter. Find out how to join the UTC Mocs Club and support more than 300 student-athletes by clicking here. Check out the Mocs on the Mic podcast here.
