CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Buccaneer volleyball team is featured in this year's Chattanooga Classic. The field of competition includes Belmont University, Charleston Southern University, Tennessee State University, and the hosting program, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
 
The Bucs competed in two matches today, the first against Belmont as well as the night's main event versus the Chattanooga Mocs.
 
The match against Belmont did not go CSU's way as the Bucs lost in four sets. Upperclassmen, Skylar Yates and Savannah Freeman had phenomenal offensive performances posting .368 and .357 attacking percentages respectively, while also combining for 26.5 of the Bucs' 59.0 total points against the Bruins. Yates also added 9 digs and 3 service aces to her solid performance.
 
Charleston Southern freshman, and Chattanooga area native, Tristin Sutton broke her collegiate career high in assists (24) while back in her hometown.
 
Setter Tristin Sutton: "It was a great feeling being able to come back to my hometown and play in front of so many of my family and friends. It is such a great feeling having my hitters trust my ability to get them the ball. I also enjoyed the great atmosphere as it was so easy to feed off of. I really felt like I was on fire and on top of the world. The whole day was just a great experience."
 
Sophia Kluska and Faith Burch, two of the Bucs highest scorers thus far, added 8 kills apiece to their season totals during the Belmont match.

After an in-depth film session and team meeting, the Bucs returned to Maclellan Gym to compete in the day's final face off against the home team, the Chattanooga Mocs. This match earned its main event title as it had every fan and spectator in the building on the edge of their seat from start to fifth set finish.
The Bucs early energy earned them a first set victory (25-23). The second and third sets were dominated by the Mocs as the won 25-16 and 25-13 respectively.
 
A fiery speech by Head Coach Carry Brown translated on to the court as CSU fought tooth and nail against the home squad in an overwhelmingly energetic fourth set. A kill by Skylar Yates, followed by a hitting error by UTC, earned the Bucs their second won set of the main event match. The match was all tied up at two sets apiece, and the finale within the finale was set. The match's fifth set went back and forth almost all the way to the end, ultimately resulting in a 15-11 loss for the visiting Buccaneers.
 
Although a loss occurred, Hedgesville, WV native, Skylar Yates continued her overall showcase by recording 23 kills (a new career high) and 16 digs.
 
Outside Hitter Skylar Yates: "It was so exciting to get a career high especially since my previous record was from my freshman year. This past year has had its challenges, so it's very encouraging and gives me so much hope that I have a majority of our season left to keep growing."
 
Brenna Rowland, who did not play to her normal standard in the Belmont match, had a notable bounce back performance to end the day against Chattanooga - posting 12 kills, a .400 attacking percentage, 3 digs, and 14.5 points. Bucs' libero Julia Fledderjohn added 12 digs to the Bucs' defensive effort, while fellow junior classman, Sophia Kluska added 12 digs of her own, as well as 8 kills. 
 
CSU will compete in their final match of the Chattanooga Classic event tomorrow morning at 11 AM against the Tennessee State Tigers. Live stats and updates from the match can be found using the link below.
 
https://gomocs.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary