CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team completed their fourth 3-0 sweep of the weekend on Sunday afternoon against Cal State Fullerton as part of the Chattanooga Classic presented by Hampton Inn & Suites held in Maclellan Gym.
The Mocs came out swinging by winning the first set 25-11 and then went on to win 25-18 and 25-17 in sets two and three, respectively. With the win, UTC improves to 4-0 on the season and earned their 11th straight non-conference win dating back to last season. After the loss, Cal State Fullerton drops to 2-1 overall.
"It was a great opening weekend," said coach Travis Filar. "I'm extremely proud of our kids for how they came out and competed. I think this match today was big for us as we knew it would be a tough test against a very different style of team."
The Mocs continued to showcase a strong defense as they forced the Titans into a .016 hitting percentage and now have forced opponents to a combined -.045 hitting percentage this season.
The senior duo of Allie Davenport and Kristy Wies, both were named to the Classic all-tournament team, paced Chattanooga by each registering ten kills while swinging at a combined .263 clip. In addition, sophomore Miranda Elpers, who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Classic, collected eight kills and freshman Dani Szczepanski added six kills to help the Mocs offense during the win.
Junior Lauren Greenspoon dished out a team-high 28 assists while collecting nine digs on the day. Starting libero, sophomore Rachel Petkosh, recorded a match-high 29 digs and also registered two service aces in the win.
"I think in all phases of the game – serving, passing, setting, attacking, blocking and defense – we were very sharp, disciplined and connected. I think that speaks volumes of how strong and together a group of student-athletes we have," added Filar.
Chattanooga prepares for a six match road trip beginning this weekend with a trip to Dayton, Ohio as part of the University of Dayton Invitational. The four-team tournament consists of UTC, Dayton, a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, Xavier, who represents the Big East and Northwestern who competes in the Big Ten Conference.
"We are very excited for the next opportunity to get into the gym to practice and improve," added Filar. "We will be prepared for an outstanding weekend of competition at Dayton."
The Mocs (4-0) return to action Friday, Sept. 2 at 3:30pm against Northwestern as part of the Dayton Invitational. The tournament will be held Friday-Saturday at UD's Frericks Center. Coverage details will be released later this week.
CHATTANOOGA CLASSIC – ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Madeline Schneider SO OH Cal State Fullerton
Rachel Hall FR S Cal State Fullerton
Brianna Dafney SO RS South Carolina State
Mikayla Register SR DS Presbyterian College
Sydney Robinson FR L Miss. Valley State
Allie Davenport SR OH Chattanooga
Kristy Wieser SR MB Chattanooga
MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER
Miranda Elpers SO OH Chattanooga