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CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Buccaneers volleyball team will compete in this year’s Chattanooga Classic, competing against Belmont University, Charleston Southern University, Tennessee State University and host program, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
The Bucks played two games today, the first against Belmont and then the main event of the evening against the Chattanooga Mocs.
The match against Belmont didn’t go well for CSU, with the Bucks losing in four sets. Seniors Skylar Yates and Savannah Freeman were phenomenal offensively, posting .368 and .357 attacking percentages, respectively, and scoring 26.5 of the Bucks’ 59.0 total points against the Bruins. Yates also added nine digs and three service aces to her solid performance.
Charleston Southern freshman and Chattanooga-area native Tristin Sutton broke his collegiate all-time record for assists (24) while returning to his hometown.
Setter Tristin Sutton: “It was a great feeling to come back to my hometown and play in front of so many family and friends. It feels really great to have the hitters trust my ability and be able to bowl. I also enjoyed the great atmosphere. It was really easy to get into. I was really fired up and felt like I was number one in the world. It was a great experience all day.”
Sofia Kruska and Faith Burch, two of the Bucks’ leading scorers so far, each added eight points to their season totals against Belmont.
After an extensive film session and team meeting, the Bucks returned to McClellan Gym for the final match of the day against the local team, Chattanooga Mocs, a match that earned the title of main event as every fan and spectator in the venue was glued to their seats from the start until the end of the fifth set.
The Buccaneers got off to an early start and won the first set (25-23). They dominated the second and third sets, winning 25-16 and 25-13, respectively.
Coach Carrie Brown’s impassioned speech carried over onto the court as CSU fought tooth and nail against the home team in an overwhelmingly energetic fourth set. A kill by Skylar Yates followed by a hitting error by UTC gave the Buccaneers the second set of the main event match. The match was tied at two sets apiece going into a deciding set. The fifth set of the match was a back-and-forth affair until the visiting Buccaneers ultimately lost, 15-11.
Despite the loss, Skylar Yates, from Hedgesville, West Virginia, continued her all-around performance with 23 kills (a career-high) and 16 digs.
Outside hitter Skylar Yates said, “I’m very excited to achieve my career high, as my previous records were from my freshman year. The past year has been difficult, but I’m very encouraged and hopeful that I can continue to grow for the majority of the remainder of the season.”
Brenna Rowland, who didn’t play to her usual standard against Belmont, had a notable comeback against Chattanooga, recording 12 kills, a .400 attack percentage, three digs and 14.5 points per game. Bucks libero Julia Frederjohn added 12 digs to the Bucks’ defense, while fellow junior Sofia Kruska also added 12 digs and eight kills.
CSU will face off against the Tennessee State University Tigers in the final game of the Chattanooga Classic event tomorrow at 11 a.m. Live stats and updates from the game can be found at the link below.
https://gomocs.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
