Volleyball Drops Competitive SoCon Opener to Wofford

Friday, September 25

Chattanooga, Tenn.

6:00 p.m.

Chattanooga

5-8,0-1SoCon

Wofford

8-5,1-0SoCon

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Wofford	20	25	26	25	3
Chattanooga	25	21	24	10	1

Mallory Merz setting the attacker up against Wofford

Photo by: Ray Soldano

9/25/2026 9:00:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Double-doubles from Elena Vukmanov and Mallory Merz weren't enough for UTC to move to 1-0 in league play

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Mocs returned to Maclellan Gym for the first time in 26 days to open SoCon play against Wofford. Chattanooga came out hot, taking the first set against the three-time defending SoCon Tournament Champions, but the Terriers responded winning the next three in a competitive match.

Final Score
Chattanooga 1, Wofford 3 (25-20, 21-25, 24-26, 10-25)

Records
Chattanooga (5-8, 0-1 SoCon)
Wofford (8-5, 1-0 SoCon)

Series Notes
Chattanooga moves to 35-20 all-time against Wofford and drops to 21-5 on its home court against the Terriers. Wofford has won six of the last seven matches in the series. Chattanooga is 19-24 all-time in SoCon openers.

How it Happened
An early 6-0 run for the Mocs got things started as they led 8-3 in set one. Wofford made its way back, eventually getting within one point at 12-11. A pivotal part of the first set was a 4-0 run for UTC, yielded by three Wofford attack errors to make it 21-16. Kills from Jordin Glass and Elena Vukmanov put the Mocs one point away before a Terriers service error ended the set at 25-20.

In the early part of the second set, the two teams were neck-and-neck as a kill from Bailey Burgess put UTC within one point at 10-9. Shortly afterwards a 6-0 run for the Mocs started by a kill from Vukmanov gave the home side a 16-11 lead. Wofford dug deep fighting back to jump ahead 21-19 before a service error stopped the bleeding. The final two points of the set were Chattanooga attack errors as Wofford won 25-21 to tie the match at one apiece.

Chattanooga started out with the lead in the third set as a kill from Glass made it 9-6. This is when things got really tight as neither side led by more than one point starting at 11-10, UTC, all the way to 18-17, Wofford. The Terriers extended their lead to 23-20, before Chattanooga rattle off four points in a row to take a 24-23 lead and earn a set point. After a timeout though, it was the Terriers who buckled down with three consecutive kills to take the set 26-24 and move ahead 2-1.

Wofford used the momentum it took from the end of the third set to the fourth set, jumping out to a commanding 10-1 lead. A service ace from Glass put UTC back within six points at 11-5, however the home side wouldn't draw any close the rest of the way. Wofford cruised to the end, taking home a 25-10 win to end the match.

Individual and Team Stats

Mallory Merz had 17 assists and 13 digs to lead Chattanooga with her second double-double of the season.
Vukmanov also had a double-double with a team-high 12 kills and 14 digs. It's also her second of the year.
Glass was also in double figures with 10 kills while holding a .333 hitting percentage.
Caiti Barthel tallied 19 digs to lead the Mocs defensively.
Ashley Reynolds also had 17 assists for UTC.
Chloe Smith for Wofford was the strongest attacker of the evening with 17 kills.
Wofford hit .240 as a team while Chattanooga held a .191 hitting percentage.
The Terriers tallied 60 kills to the Mocs' 46.

Postgame Quote
Julie Torbett Thomas Head Coach
On today's performance

"I was really happy with how the team played for the first three sets. Unfortunately we ran out of substitutions in the third set and had to play with a back row player in the front row and a different combination on the floor. I think that broke our focus heading into the fourth and we let them get a large lead that was tough to overcome."

Up Next: Chattanooga and Wofford play again tomorrow at 4 p.m. in Maclellan Gym. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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