Friday, October 30
Birmingham, Ala.
7:30 p.m.
Chattanooga
at
Samford
Photo by: Ray Soldano
10/29/2026 10:19:00 AM | Volleyball
The Mocs and Bulldogs renew their rivalry this Halloween weekend
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - After picking up a memorable five-set win over Tennessee Tech at home on Tuesday, UTC is back on the road this weekend for a pair of matches at Samford. Friday's match is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT start time while Saturday's match is slated for 2:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. CT first serve.Â
An ESPN+ live stream as well as live stats will be available for Friday's match, but there will just be live stats for Saturday's match due to Samford's home football game against Wofford. Fans can find all the links needed to keep up with the Mocs this weekend below.Â
Friday, Oct. 30
7:30 p.m. - Chattanooga at Samford (Watch) (Live Stats)
Saturday, Oct. 31
2:00 p.m. - Chattanooga at Samford (Live Stats)
Records
Chattanooga (7-17, 2-10 SoCon)
Samford (10-12, 7-5 SoCon)
Series Notes
Chattanooga is 20-39 all-time against Samford and is 5-22 in road matches at Samford... The home team won both matches that were played last year for a season split... Friday and Saturday mark the 60th and 61st all-time meetings between the two schools... Julie Torbett Thomas is 3-5 against Samford during her tenure at UTC.Â
About Chattanooga
As was mentioned earlier, the Mocs took down Tennessee Tech in five sets on Tuesday to earn their second SoCon win of the year. UTC had a trio of double-doubles in the win, led by Ashley Reynolds (31 assists, 12 digs, 8 kills) while Gracie Rose (11 kills, 10 digs) and Kynli Kirkendoll (14 digs, 11 kills) also had double-doubles. The Mocs are looking to earn their first true road victory of the season this weekend, as they are 0-8 in such matches.Â
Kirkendoll (0.94 blocks per set) and Jordin Glass (0.92 blocks per set) are each ranked in the top 10 in the SoCon in blocks per set, as blocking has been a strength for UTC this season. Chattanooga averages 2.10 blocks per set, which is third best in the league. Another key player in UTC's defense is libero Caiti Barthel, who ranks second in the SoCon in digs per set at 4.27 and third in total digs with 384 on the season.Â
Offensively, it starts with Rose who has a team-high 210 kills on the year while averaging 2.39 kills per set. In the middle, Kirkendoll (179 kills/1.99 per set) and Glass (170 kills/2.00 per set) are important pieces as well. At the setter position, Reynolds leads the Mocs with 583 assists, while averaging 6.48 assists per set. She is also second on the team in digs, averaging 2.00 digs per set.
About SamfordÂ
Samford is riding a two-match losing streak going into this weekend, falling in five sets on the road at Mercer on Tuesday night in its last match. The Bulldogs are 4-3 on their home court in SoCon play. Like the Mocs, Samford is a great blocking team, ranking first in the SoCon in total blocks with 222 and blocks per set at 2.58. Another area of the game Samford excels in is serving, as it averages 1.78 service aces for set, good enough to be ranked second in the conference.Â
Outside hitter Ally Cordes is the key player for Samford, as she leads the team in kills with 324 and kills per set at 3.77, as well as total digs with 269. She is fourth in the league in kills per set and had a match of 31 kills earlier this year at Western Carolina. She is paired with setter Alison Ohlinger, who is statistically the second-best setter in the SoCon, averaging 10.06 assists per set.Â
Hazel Slusher leads the team with 98 blocks and 1.36 blocks per set, but has missed the last three matches. Janie Stinchcomb is right behind her, averaging 0.93 blocks per set. Brooklyn Drumwright averages the most digs per set for Samford at 3.41. The listed outside hitter, has had nine straight matches with 10 or more digs.Â
FOLLOW CHATTANOOGA VOLLEYBALL
Follow @GoMocsVB on X and @GoMocsVolleyball on Instagram for the most up-to-date information and news regarding Chattanooga volleyball.
GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs. 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. NIL opportunities with Chattanooga Mocs student-athletes can be found here.
An ESPN+ live stream as well as live stats will be available for Friday's match, but there will just be live stats for Saturday's match due to Samford's home football game against Wofford. Fans can find all the links needed to keep up with the Mocs this weekend below.Â
Friday, Oct. 30
7:30 p.m. - Chattanooga at Samford (Watch) (Live Stats)
Saturday, Oct. 31
2:00 p.m. - Chattanooga at Samford (Live Stats)
Records
Chattanooga (7-17, 2-10 SoCon)
Samford (10-12, 7-5 SoCon)
Series Notes
Chattanooga is 20-39 all-time against Samford and is 5-22 in road matches at Samford... The home team won both matches that were played last year for a season split... Friday and Saturday mark the 60th and 61st all-time meetings between the two schools... Julie Torbett Thomas is 3-5 against Samford during her tenure at UTC.Â
About Chattanooga
As was mentioned earlier, the Mocs took down Tennessee Tech in five sets on Tuesday to earn their second SoCon win of the year. UTC had a trio of double-doubles in the win, led by Ashley Reynolds (31 assists, 12 digs, 8 kills) while Gracie Rose (11 kills, 10 digs) and Kynli Kirkendoll (14 digs, 11 kills) also had double-doubles. The Mocs are looking to earn their first true road victory of the season this weekend, as they are 0-8 in such matches.Â
Kirkendoll (0.94 blocks per set) and Jordin Glass (0.92 blocks per set) are each ranked in the top 10 in the SoCon in blocks per set, as blocking has been a strength for UTC this season. Chattanooga averages 2.10 blocks per set, which is third best in the league. Another key player in UTC's defense is libero Caiti Barthel, who ranks second in the SoCon in digs per set at 4.27 and third in total digs with 384 on the season.Â
Offensively, it starts with Rose who has a team-high 210 kills on the year while averaging 2.39 kills per set. In the middle, Kirkendoll (179 kills/1.99 per set) and Glass (170 kills/2.00 per set) are important pieces as well. At the setter position, Reynolds leads the Mocs with 583 assists, while averaging 6.48 assists per set. She is also second on the team in digs, averaging 2.00 digs per set.
About SamfordÂ
Samford is riding a two-match losing streak going into this weekend, falling in five sets on the road at Mercer on Tuesday night in its last match. The Bulldogs are 4-3 on their home court in SoCon play. Like the Mocs, Samford is a great blocking team, ranking first in the SoCon in total blocks with 222 and blocks per set at 2.58. Another area of the game Samford excels in is serving, as it averages 1.78 service aces for set, good enough to be ranked second in the conference.Â
Outside hitter Ally Cordes is the key player for Samford, as she leads the team in kills with 324 and kills per set at 3.77, as well as total digs with 269. She is fourth in the league in kills per set and had a match of 31 kills earlier this year at Western Carolina. She is paired with setter Alison Ohlinger, who is statistically the second-best setter in the SoCon, averaging 10.06 assists per set.Â
Hazel Slusher leads the team with 98 blocks and 1.36 blocks per set, but has missed the last three matches. Janie Stinchcomb is right behind her, averaging 0.93 blocks per set. Brooklyn Drumwright averages the most digs per set for Samford at 3.41. The listed outside hitter, has had nine straight matches with 10 or more digs.Â
FOLLOW CHATTANOOGA VOLLEYBALL
Follow @GoMocsVB on X and @GoMocsVolleyball on Instagram for the most up-to-date information and news regarding Chattanooga volleyball.
GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs. 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. NIL opportunities with Chattanooga Mocs student-athletes can be found here.
Players Mentioned
DS/L
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballTuesday, September 30
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