MEMPHIS, Tenn. (September 11, 2025) – In a back-and-forth battle from start to finish, the Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team suffered a tight 3-1 (24-26, 30-28, 27-25, 27-25) defeat on the road at Memphis during the opening match of the Carrie Yerty Classic hosted by the Tigers inside Elma Roane Fieldhouse Thursday night.
 
Despite scoring 25 or more points in all four sets, Chattanooga drops its fourth-straight match and falls to 2-5 on the young season. Memphis improved to 5-2 on the year after the victory and is now 5-0 against UTC in the all-time series history.
 
Match Notables

• The four-set match featured 47 tie scores and 22 lead changes between the two teams. All four sets had at least 10+ ties and four-plus lead changes.
• Senior OH Sydney Jackwin surpassed 800 career kills. Jackwin tied a career high with 20 kills and notched a double-double with 13 digs during Thursday's match.
• Sophomore MB Kynli Kirkendoll finished with a career-high 11.0 blocks (two solo, nine assists). Kirkendoll now sits at 130.0 total blocks in her short collegiate career thus far.

 
Set-by-Set Highlights
Set 1 – UTC 26, MEM 24 (UTC 1-0)

• Chattanooga jumped out to a pair of four-point leads of 7-3 and 12-8 in the early stages.
• Memphis clawed its way back over the next few rallies and grabbed a 15-14 edge at the media timeout.
• The two teams went point-for-point from that moment through the end of the set, totaling 13 ties and six lead changes in total for the opening set.
• Tied 24-24, back-to-back kills from Laila N'Diaye and Sydney Jackwin gave Chattanooga the 26-24 set win and 1-0 lead in the match.

 
Set 2 – MEM 30, UTC 28 (tied 1-1)

• Memphis raced out of the second set gates with a fast 7-2 lead before UTC chipped away on the help of Jackwin's attack, cutting its deficit to 10-8.
• Trailing 14-10, the Mocs went a 5-0 scoring run that was capped off by a Kendyl MacAskill kill and Jackwin ace to take a 15-14 edge into the media break.
• Much like the first set, the two teams went point-for-point over the next several rallies before Memphis notched its first set point, 24-21, with a quick three unanswered stretch.
• Chattanooga scored three-straight of its own to tie the set 24-24 before eventually creating its own set point, 27-26, on a Kynli Kirkendoll ace.
• Memphis fought off the Mocs set-point opportunity and scored four of the final six points in the set to claim a 30-28 decision and tie the match 1-1.

 
Set 3 – MEM 27, UTC 25 (MEM 2-1)

• Memphis led 8-6 in the early going before Chattanooga answered with a 6-1 scoring run, building a 12-9 lead over the set's first 21 points.
• The Mocs continued to lead by three, 15-12, at the media timeout following a Jackwin kill and Caiti Barthel service ace.
• Again, the two teams found themselves tied multiple times down the stretch as the set ultimately accumulated 12 ties and four lead changes.
• Despite fighting off two Memphis set points (24-23, 25-24), UTC narrowly dropped the set 27-25 on consecutive kills from the Tigers and fell behind in the match 2-1.

 
Set 4 – MEM 27, UTC 25 (MEM 3-1)

• Chattanooga's N'Diaye laid down her first kill of the fourth set to tie things 7-7 before three quick Memphis points made it 10-7.
• For the first time in the match, the Tigers claimed an edge at the 15-point benchmark media timeout as the hosts held on to a slight 15-12 advantage.
• Trailing 19-16, the Mocs found an aggressive offensive attack and put together a 5-1 scoring run to take a late 21-20 lead and force Memphis into a timeout.
• UTC earned itself a set point at 24-23 before the Tigers responded with four of the final five points to walk away with a 27-25 set win and 3-1 win in the match.

Up Next
Chattanooga will round out play at the Carrie Yerty Classic on Friday with a pair of matches beginning with Lamar at Noon (ET) and ending with in-state foe UT Martin at 4 p.m. (ET). Live stats are available on GoMocs.com on the schedule page.

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