After a slow start to the season, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga soccer team seems to be on the right track.
The Mocs' 2-1 win over Mercer on Sunday was their third victory in a row and made them 3-1 in Southern Conference play, the program's best start against the league since 2004.
The Mocs already have wins over the Bears and The Citadel during their current five-game home stand, but the schedule gets tougher this weekend with home matches against Samford and East Tennessee State - teams with a combined 5-2 record in league.
UTC was 2-6-1 in nonconference play, but in the preseason coach Gavin McKinney said his intent was to have the team ready for league play. So far, the Mocs have been.
"I'm delighted for the girls," McKinney said after Sunday's match. "We had a rough start with out-of-conference play. We dropped a lot of games by a goal, but we kept preaching to them that it's got to be about the SoCon play for us."
Freshman Hannah Torbett scored her second straight game-winning goal against Mercer. She currently ranks third on the team in points (two for a goal, one for an assist), behind Peyton McCollum's 13 and Ellie Myrick's 12, and is tied for third in goals behind Myrick and McCollum.
Volleyball wins two
The UTC volleyball team bounced back from a SoCon-opening loss at Samford with weekend wins over East Tennessee State and Mercer.
The Mocs (9-7, 2-1) host Wofford and Western Carolina this weekend at Maclellan Gymnasium. With two wins UTC would move into sole possession of second place, a game behind Furman, which it won't face until Oct. 28.
"I'm so proud of this team and the response and toughness they played with this weekend, especially today," coach Travis Filar said after Saturday's win in Macon. "It was an extremely quick turnaround getting on the road early this morning after a big win last night to play Mercer, who has been playing really well.
"Winning in three sets says a lot about this team and their continued growth."
Senior Kristy Wieser was named SoCon offensive player of the week after combining for 34 kills at a .468 hitting percentage in seven sets.
Golfers solid at Firestone
The UTC men's golfers placed sixth with a strong finish Tuesday in the Firestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio, posting their first under-par finish of the 2016-17 season at a 1-under 863, only 13 strokes behind winner Cincinnati.
At one point in the final round the Mocs were 7 under. Their 287 was the second best round of the day, out of 16 teams.
"It's an under-par tournament on a good course," coach Mark Guhne said in a UTC release. "This really showed that we're closer to reaching the potential that I truly believe this team has."
Brooks Thomas had a 69 Tuesday, and he tied for fifth individually at 211. Wes Gosselin had a 72 while Andrew Weathers and Lake Johnson shot 73s. Gosselin tied for 12th at 213. Weathers, Stuart Thomas and Johnson totaled 222, 223 and 226.
The UTC women's golfers finished 11th at 874 in the 21-team Cougar Classic at Hanahan, S.C., with Cristina Perez tying for 22nd individually at even-par 216 and Monica San Juan and Holly Morgan finishing at 221 and 222. Megan Woods led the team Tuesday with a 71.
North Carolina was the team winner at 838; Furman was second at 846. UTC shot better than seven Power Five programs.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.