ORLANDO, Fla. (August 29, 2025) – It was an opening day for the books for the Chattanooga Mocs volleyball program following a thrilling 3-2 win over Norfolk State and a tough 3-1 defeat to Big 12-member UCF at the UCF Tournament held at The Venue in Orlando, Fla., on Friday afternoon.
 
Chattanooga opens the season 1-1 after today's doubleheader while Norfolk State dropped to 0-1 after its defeat to the Mocs and UCF went to 1-0 after its opener. UTC has now won seven of its last nine matches during opening weekend of play.
 
Match recaps, stats and more can be found below.
 
Up Next
Chattanooga wraps up play in the UCF Tournament on Saturday with a Noon (ET) matchup against UC Riverside. Match coverage links can be found on the schedule page.
 
Chattanooga 3, Norfolk State 2
 
S1: UTC 25, NSU 18 (1-0 UTC)

• Chattanooga opened the match with a 25-18 win in the first set.
• The Mocs built a quick 7-4 lead before the two teams locked at 10-10.
• UTC earned eight of the next 12 points to take an 18-14 lead on the heels of a balanced attack.
• Back-to-back kills from Sydney Jackwin and Kendyl MacAskill capped off the 25-18 set victory.

 
S2: NSU 25, UTC 22 (1-1)

• Norfolk State raced out to a fast 6-0 lead before UTC rallied with six-straight of their own to tie the set 6-6.
• Similar to the first, the teams found themselves knotted at 10-10 before NSU took six of the next eight to grab a 16-12 edge.
• The Mocs clawed back to tie the set, 19-19, following consecutive kills from Gracie Rose.
• NSU captured the set win, 25-22, after forcing UTC into an attacking error on set point.

 
S3: NSU 25, UTC 19 (2-1 NSU)

• Norfolk State put together another fast start as a pair of aces and blocks helped build a 5-2 advantage.
• Back-to-back aces from Mallory Merz cut UTC's deficit to one, 10-9, before the Spartans built back a 13-9 edge with three-straight quick points.
• The Mocs grabbed leads at 16-15 and 17-16 on kills from Jackwin and Kynli Kirkendoll, respectively.
• UTC faltered down the stretch as NSU ended the set on a 9-2 run to claim a 25-19 victory and 2-1 lead in the match.

 
S4: UTC 25, NSU 18 (2-2)

• The two teams account for eight ties in the early stages of the set before a quick 3-0 run from UTC helped build a 15-12 advantage heading into the media timeout.
• Chattanooga maintained a slight three-point lead, 18-15, before extending it to four, 21-17, after a Kirkendoll solo block on the NSU attack.
• UTC closed the set with four unanswered points to claim a 25-18 decision and force a winner-take-all fifth.

 
S5: UTC 15, NSU 8 (3-2 UTC)

• NSU jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead in the fifth set after a strong attack on the offensive and service side.
• It was all Chattanooga after an initial 4-0 run allowed for a 6-5 advantage in the set.
• From there, UTC scored nine of the final 12 points in the deciding set and clinched the match on a Gracie Rose kill that captured the 15-8 decision.

 
Records: Chattanooga 1-0; Norfolk State 0-1
Leaders: Rose: 17 kills, five digs, four blocks; Jackwin: 17 kills, 24 digs; Kirkendoll: 12 kills, seven digs, nine blocks; Reynolds: 43 assists, 10 digs.
 
UCF 3, Chattanooga 1
 
S1: UCF 25, UTC 18 (1-0 UCF)

• Chattanooga and UCF went back-and-forth to open the first set of action as the host Knights held a slight 11-9 lead after the first 20 rallies.
• UCF built a five-point edge, 18-13, after forcing the Mocs into multiple attacking errors over a four-rally span.
• UTC cut its deficit to three down the stretch, 19-16, before UCF ended the opening frame on a 4-0 run to capture a 25-18 victory and 1-0 lead in the match.

 
S2: UCF 25, UTC 15 (2-0 UCF)

• UCF jumped out to an early 5-2 edge before three-straight Chattanooga points resulted in a 5-5 knot.
• Leading 10-8, the Knights used a 5-2 scoring run to build a 15-10 advantage while forcing the Mocs into calling a timeout.
• The closest UTC would pull within was four, 18-14, late in the third set before the hosts ran away with a convincing 25-15 decision and 2-0 lead.

 
S3: UTC 25, UCF 19 (2-1 UCF)

• Forced to win the set to extend the match, it was Chattanooga who jumped out early with a 5-2 lead after a Caiti Barthel ace and kills from Rose and Jordin Glass.
• A back-and-forth battle broke out from there which led to the two teams locked in a 13-13 tie as UCF called timeout in search of momentum.
• Following the timeout, Chattanooga rattled off six-straight points to create a sizable 19-13 advantage before closing the set out with a 25-19 win and forcing a fourth set.

 
S4: UCF 25, UTC 11 (3-1 UCF)

• The two teams split the first six points of the fourth before the 3-3 tie led to a 9-4 UCF advantage after the hosts scored six of the next seven points.
• Chattanooga fought to keep things within striking distance before a 10-4 scoring spurt from the Knights created a wide margin, 19-8, with just a few points remaining.
• UCF ended UTC's upset bid after ultimately winning the fourth by a 25-11 count and the match by a 3-1 tally.

 
Records: Chattanooga 1-1; UCF 1-0
Leaders: Jackwin: eight kills, eight digs; Rose: seven kills; Vukmanov: seven kills; Barthel: 17 digs, three assists.
 
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