CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.-The Chattanooga Lady Mocs (6-9, 0-0) volleyball team opens Southern Conference play Friday evening as Appalachian State (4-10, 0-0) and Western Carolina (4-11, 0-0) visit the Scenic City. UTC takes on the Mountaineers at 6 p.m. Friday night and the Catamounts hit the court Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Maclellan Gym.
The Mocs enter the contest against ASU with six wins on the season, already garnering one more win than all of last season. Chattanooga boasts a 5-0 record at home, downing Alabama A&M and Alabama State during mid-week competitions, along with taking the Country Inns & Suites Invitational to open the season.
Chattanooga ranks in the top 10 in each statistical category in the SoCon so far this season. UTC is second in with 1.34 aces per set, sixth in hitting percentage at .192 and seventh in digs with a 15.43 average. Senior libero Paula Passmore (Merritt Island, Fla.) leads the conference with 318 digs, averaging 6 digs per set, while junior setter Bridget Camacho (Cumming, Ga.) is fifth in the SoCon with an average of 9.43 assists per set.
Appalachian State enters the weekend ranked first in the conference with 2.22 blocks per set, totaling 102 total blocks on the season. Junior Jessica Eley leads the Mountaineers defense with 47 total blocks on the season. Courtney Rhein rounds out the defense for ASU as the senior is third in the conference with an average of 4.85 digs per set, totaling 223 on the season.
Western Carolina is currently fourth in the SoCon with 16.02 digs per set, but does not break the top five in any other category as a team. Sophomore Kaitlin Piechota ranks fifth in the conference with 141 kills, averaging 3.44 per set.
Chattanooga was winless in 2012 against both the Catamounts and the Mountaineers. ASU took 3-0 and 3-1 contests from UTC while WCU claimed 3-1 and 3-2 wins. Head Coach Travis Filar and the Mocs look to turn the tables this season as Appalachian State and Western Carolina are both winless on the road entering conference play while Chattanooga is 5-0 at home in 2012.
Live video of both matches is available online through MocsVision, and free live stats will be available through GoMocs.com via the links above.
"Moc of the Match" signed mini-volleyballs will be thrown into the crowd as the Mocs starting lineup is announced, t-shirts for each ace by a Chattanooga player will be thrown to the crowd and post-match autographs from the team and coaches will be featured over the weekend.
