Chattanooga Mocs volleyball stays hot on senior night
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (BVM) — Saturday marked senior night for the UTC Mocs volleyball team. Despite being a relatively young team and only having two seniors on the roster–Gylian Finch and Maia Rackel–it didn’t stop them from putting up another dominating performance.
Finch and Rackel were honored before the game began, shining a light on both of their stellar careers at UTC. After the festivities, the players laced up and proceeded to do what they have done for the last month: win.
The Wofford Terriers came into Maclellan Gym as the third-ranked team in the Southern Conference and winners of five of their last six games. The match looked like it was going to put the Mocs’ good fortunes as of late to the test.
In reality, it did nothing of the sort. UTC was the better team all throughout the match, plain and simple. They won all three sets in convincing fashion, 25-18, 25-23 and 25-20, making a worthy opponent look completely outmatched.
From the jump, the Mocs came out with the energy and juice that has made them such a feared unit. The teams traded points for much of the first set until the back half. Some great serving and well-placed kills ignited a 5-2 run for the Mocs securing the first set victory by a score of 25-18.
The watershed moment of the match came in the second set. With things all tied up at 23 apiece, the match hanging in the balance, Rackel delivered a devastating kill, followed up by a block by Finch to seal the set.
There are two worlds of difference between being tied 1-1 in a match and being up 2-0. Two worlds of difference, separated by just two points. After that, Wofford’s demeanor was broken and the Mocs cruised to a third set and match victory, 25-20.
Watching a volleyball team in sync is like watching a great boxer. The first minutes of the round are spent trading punches with the opponent–looking for weak spots, gaining information. It’s not until later that the power punches start to fly. Once a weakness is found it’s the boxer’s right to try and land a knockout.
This is exactly how the Mocs have been operating lately. The first half of the set is spent feeling out the opponent. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, they’ll explode for a 5-0, energy-injected run that leaves the opposition wide-eyed, asking themselves, “What just happened?”
Unfortunately for UTC, their recent success has yet to result in any tangible accomplishments, in other words, a rise up in the rankings.
The Mocs are still slated as the eighth-ranked team in the conference, and because of this will be forced to play in the play-in game tonight at 6 p.m. against Furman.
The two teams have matched up twice this season, with the Mocs coming out victorious in both contests. The most recent game came back on Oct. 28 where UTC made short work of the Paladins, winning the first three sets.
Still, as the old adage goes, it’s hard to beat a team three times in one year. But this isn’t the same UTC team, it’s a team that’s playing its best volleyball at exactly the right time.
“Then, by November, you’re playing your best volleyball, which is always the coach’s goal. That’s credit to our kids, they’ve stayed the course,” Head coach Travis Filar said last week.
Tonight, records will be reset. It doesn’t matter how well a team has been playing, or how poorly they have been playing. Everyone sits at zero wins and zero losses. All that matters is what happens in between those four lines.
