University of Tennessee at Chattanooga volleyball coach Travis Filar expects his team to gain consistency as the season wears on.
This weekend, though, the Mocs showed a glimpse of what they are capable of.
The Mocs went 2-1 in the season-opening Chattanooga Classic, claiming Saturday victories over Troy and Eastern Kentucky after dropping a hard-fought five-set decision to Valparaiso on Friday night.
UTC won 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-21, 25-11) against the Alabama team and 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-13) against the Colonels.
When the Mocs were good, they were good. But a lapse in consistent effort might have cost them on Friday, as they couldn't string together back-to-back set wins. That wasn't the case in Saturday's action, as after dropping the second game to Troy, the Mocs reeled off five consecutive games, including dominating 25-11 and 25-13 sets to close out the wins.
"We came out with the determination that we were going to win," senior Sarah Batterton said. "We came out on the floor and started with a huge run.
"I'm so excited. We gutted out last night's match and didn't get the win, but today we came out strong and got the win. It's one of many."
Filar said after the Troy match that UTC's depth played a big role in the win. After the loss in the second set, the Mocs made some changes - including inserting freshmen Miranda Elpers and Emily Plumlee - and took off from there.
"I just think one thing the upperclassmen realize already is that we've got to be ready to go, because we're really deep. Our depth was able to shine through today, but we also started to attack through the service line," Filar said. "We talked so much about how easily we won the two sets we won against Valparaiso, but we weren't able to follow through and come back with the same level of play. Saturday when we had the same opportunity to get it right, we did. It was exciting to challenge the team and they produce."
Batterton, preseason All-Southern Conference selection Kristy Weiser and Briana Reid were the top three scorers in kills, while Lauren Greenspoon had 56 assists against Valparaiso and 40 and 37 in the wins, when Catherine Chason and Reid totaled 26 and 23 digs.
The Mocs travel to Mississippi State next weekend to play in the Maroon Classic and will be back at home Sept. 11-12 for the Scenic City Showcase.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.