CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team hosts its final contests of a four-week homestand this weekend as the Citadel and Western Carolina visit the Scenic City. Maclellan Gym hosts the Bulldogs at 6 p.m. Friday and the Catamounts Saturday at 2 p.m.
UTC is 7-10 overall and looking for its first conference win, falling to 0-2 with losses to Samford and ETSU last week. Both the Bulldogs and the Buccaneers topped the Mocs 3-1, but they look to get back on track against the Citadel and WCU as the two teams come to Chattanooga with matching 0-2 league records.
Sophomore Kristy Wieser (Lincoln, Neb.) continues to lead UTC with 159 kills, averaging 2.48 kills per set, whose total ranks in the SoCon's top 10. Junior Lauren Gainer's (Boca Raton, Fla.) .309 hitting percentage ranks fourth in the league, and sophomore Allie Davenport (Tyrone, Ga.) goes into the weekend as the league's ace leader with 28.
On defense, sophomore Nicole Sumida's (Hixson, Tenn.) 0.94 blocks per set is good for sixth in the conference and Gainer stands third with 1.06 blocks per set. Junior libero Catherine Chason (Alpharetta, Ga.) also finds herself among the SoCon's leader in digs with 281, ranking seventh.
The Citadel comes to Chattanooga tied for seventh in the conference standings with Chattanooga and Western Carolina. The Bulldogs look to Bailey Kernodle for the offensive production, leading the team with 128 kills. She averages 2.61 kills per set while the defense is led by Dominique Williams, whose 32.0 blocks rank just outside the league leaders. Libero Amanda Rudnik leads Citadel defenders with 208 digs.
Western Carolina's offense is led by Jordan Timmermann, totaling 172 kills thus far. That total ranks fifth in the conference as she averages 3.07 per set. Senior Addy George is seventh in the conference with a .279 hitting percentage. The Catamounts' defense is steered by freshman Katie O'Conner with 33.0 blocks on the season. She averages 0.87 blocks per set, ranking seventh in the SoCon. Libero Elyssa Mulheron is currently the fourth-best defender in the league, averaging 4.71 digs per set.
Free live stats are available through GoMocs.com, and a free video cast is available through the SoCon Digital Network. Both can be accessed on the volleyball schedule page.
