CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team hosts Samford and East Tennessee Friday and Saturday to begin the 2014 Southern Conference volleyball slate. The Bulldogs are set to visit Friday at 6 p.m. with ETSU coming to town Saturday at 3 p.m.
The Mocs go into the first weekend of conference play with a 7-8 record, coming off a 2-1 weekend at the Scenic City Showdown at Maclellan Gym. Lauren Gainer (Boca Raton, Fla.), named the Southern Conference Student-Athlete of the Week Wednesday, leads the UTC defense with 54 blocks – placing her among the league's top defenders. Sophomore Kristy Wieser (Lincoln, Neb.) continues to pace the team with 145 kills.
As a team, Chattanooga leads the Southern Conference with 920 digs. Libero Catherine Chason (Alpharetta, Ga.) leads the Mocs with 250 digs while Wieser follows with 186. UTC ranks fifth in the SoCon in service aces while Allie Davenport (Tyrone, Ga.) leads the league with 26.
The Bulldogs visit the Scenic City Friday toting a 5-7 overall record. Thus far, Samford has claimed wins over Jacksonville State, Georgia State, Eastern Michigan, Lamar and Jackson State. The Dogs endured No. 16 Michigan State, No. 7 Florida State, Ole Miss and LSU during the preseason.
Samford looks to Michaela Reesor for its offensive production, leading the team with 155 kills and 175.5 total points. Her kill total ranks second in the SoCon, while the defense relies on TJ Russel to block, with 24.0 on the season, and libero Chelsi Carter leads the Bulldogs with 148 digs.
ETSU comes to Chattanooga for the first time Saturday since rejoining the conference. The Buccaneers enter the weekend with a 4-11 record. Their wins are over Morgan State, George Mason, Lehigh and Georgia Tech.
The Bucs lead the conference with a whopping 130.0 blocks, leading second-place Chattanooga by 27. Meredith Hardy and Khadijah Wiley each rank among the conference's top blockers. Hardy averages 1.07 per set and Wiley 1.04 per set.
The stats are available for each match, and a free video feed is provided via the SoCon Sports Network. Links to both can be found here and on the volleyball schedule page.
