UTC volleyball recruiting class ranked among nation's best

The Chattanooga Mocs 2016 volleyball recruiting class has been ranked nationally by PrepVolleyball. com. The recognition is UTC’s second “High Honorable Mention” in a row and third in four years.

“This shows a lot of the hard work that’s been put into building our program,” head coach Travis Filar stated. “When it’s all said and done, it’s about what our prospects do when they get here. I’m even more excited about what I think these five freshmen and our transfer will add to our program.”

PrepVolleyball.com recognizes a Top 30 list, followed by 25 named “Highest Honorable Mentions” and 43 “High Honorable Mentions”.

“This recognition confirms that we’re doing things the right way and that we’ve been able to establish consistency, not just on the court but also from a recruiting stand point,” shared Filar. “It shows we’re getting the right fit for our program.”

Chattanooga is the only Southern Conference team represented on the list. UTC is coming off its first SoCon regular season title since 1998 with a 26-6 record and a 13-3 finish in league play last season.

The Mocs recruiting class includes outside hitter and right-side attacker Brianna Anderson, libero Bailey Clemons, outside hitter Mikaela Gauthreaux and middle blockers Sarah Root and Dani Szczepanski.

“The attackers in the class are going to bring a lot of firepower to our offense, which became our strength this past season,” explained Filar. “We’re looking to continue that trend. Our ball control and our quality of first contacts are going to increase with this class too.”

UTC also has libero and defensive specialist Kasey Altman, a transfer from Montana State, joining the team with two years of eligibility left.

Filar also recently announced the 2016 schedule, which will include four opponents from “Power 5” conferences. UTC is set to play four tournaments and 15 home matches, including eight Southern Conference contests and seven nonleague matchups.

A complete schedule can be found online at GoMocs.com.