The Lady Mocs (17-12, 12-4) enter the weekend in fourth place in the Southern Conference following a 2-1 week that featured 3-1 victories over Western Carolina and Wofford and a tough 3-1 loss to Furman. Freshman setter Bailee Chastain (
Senior middle blocker Leslee Ball continues to lead the team with 4.63 kills and 0.83 blocks per game as well as a .326 hitting percentage while Chastain averages a team-high 11.41 assists per game. Ball is currently second in the Southern Conference in kills per game (4.74), total kills (294) and points per game (5.54) and is sixth in hitting percentage at .317. Chastain has moved into sixth place for assists per game with an average of 11.24 while senior outside hitter Jamie Engel (Troy, Ill.) notches 0.52 aces per game to tie for second in the conference in that category.
Newberry continues to be the top libero in the nation, leading the country with a 7.15 digs per game average and the Southern Conference with a 7.16 average.
As a team, the Lady Mocs continue to lead the nation in digs at 22.9 per game and the conference at 23.02. UTC also allows the third lowest hitting percentage in the Southern Conference, limiting opponents to a .161 percentage.
Entering this weekend,
UNC
Sophomore outside hitter Branagan Fuller leads the offensive attack for UNCG with 4.08 kills per game and adds an average of 2.83 digs while sophomore setter Lisa Falwell sets up the offense with 11.26 assists per game. Defensively, sophomore libero Katherine Hanners leads the way with 5.04 digs a game. Junior middle blocker Kaitlyn Nortz brings an all-around game with 3.40 kills and 1.13 blocks per game as well as a .300 hitting percentage.
Elon (16-14, 10-6) comes into the final weekend of the regular season in fifth place after a 3-2 win over Davidson on November 3. The Phoenix have gone 3-4 over their last seven matches and have dropped decisions to UTC, College of Charleston, Furman and Appalachian State to go along with victories over The Citadel and Wofford.
Leading the way for Elon is senior middle blocker Emily Lucci who averages 2.83 kills, 2.74 digs, 1.14 blocks and 0.26 service aces per game. She is joined offensively by senior outside hitter Britany Westphal and junior outside hitter Jessica Barrow with 3.09 and 2.71 kills per game, respectively. Senior setter Natalie Moore leads the team with 9.79 assists per game while junior libero Kelley Blakewood averages a team-high 4.22 digs.
The Lady Mocs have continued their dominance over both UNCG and Elon this season, registering a 3-0 victory over the Spartans on October 13 to push their all-time series lead to 21-1 and defeated Elon 3-1 on October 14 to extend that series lead to 7-2. For the Spartans, their lone win in the series came on October 27, 2002 when UNCG posted a 3-0 victory in Greensboro, N.C. Chattanooga has since won the last nine meetings, including both last season by scores of 3-0 and 3-2.
First serve for the November 10 UNC Greensboro match is 2 p.m. while Chattanooga will wrap up the regular season with a 1 p.m. match against Elon on November 11.
