The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga volleyball team picked the wrong set to have a slow start.
The Mocs fell behind early in the fifth set of their Southern Conference match against East Tennessee State University on Wednesday night at Maclellan Gymnasium. Although they were able to rally within a point, they lost 15-12 in the deciding set to the 2016 SoCon tournament champions.
The Mocs (11-10, 4-3) are on the road for their next three matches, starting Saturday at Wofford (14-6, 4-2).
Against ETSU (9-9, 5-2), UTC never trailed while winning the first set 25-18. With an opportunity to build on that momentum in the second set, they failed, falling behind 9-4. While they were able to cut their deficit to three, the Buccaneers took five of the final six points and won the set 25-18.
“We had an opportunity to bring that first-set momentum with us, and that’s what’s most disappointing and frustrating with what happened there,” UTC coach Travis Filar said. “Credit to ETSU – they came out with an urgency, and we came out too relaxed.”