CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Spartans have two reasons to celebrate Friday.
 

1. Gabriela McHugh surpassed the 2,000^th assist milestone.  
2. The Spartans started their conference slate with a 3-0 (27-25, 25-20, 25-19) win over the Chattanooga Mocs.

 
  
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Spartans started the first set slow, falling behind 12-8 to the Mocs. After three 2-0 runs, UNCG tied the match at 16.
•  The set would have eight more ties until the Spartans scored two straight, the last one from Kayla White, to win, 27-25.
• After tying the second at 14, the Spartans went on a 9-4 run to take a 23-18 lead.
• Amanda Garvens' service ace put UNCG two points away from a two-set lead.
• White ended the second with a kill from McHugh.
• The beginning of the third set was a battle between the two squads. After tying the set at 12, the Spartans scored five straight to take the 17-13 lead. White and Grey Breen led the run.
• UNCG rolled through the rest of the set and took the match in straight sets.

BY THE NUMBERS  

• Gabriela McHugh registered her 2,000^th career assist in the match. The Spartans were down 13-9 in the second set. Jocelyn Carter completed the kill to officially give McHugh the assist. McHugh finished the night with 34 assists.
• Kayla White led the match with 12 kills. She was the only player to have double digit kills.
• Amanda Garvens was on point with her serves, finishing the night with three aces.
• Four Spartans had double digit digs against the Mocs. McHugh led with 15, Followed by Garvens (12), White (11), and Stephanie Meysembourg (10).
• Grey Breen and Hannah Knier were at the top of the leader boards in hitting percentage. Breen finishing with a .438 and Knier with a .364.
• The 3-0 win over the Mocs improves UNCG's record to 12-2, 1-0 in conference play.

CARLIN'S COURSE OF THOUGHT
"I thought both teams started with nervous energy early, but once our side settled in, we were in control.  We had good offensive balance tonight and our hitters stayed assertive.
I'm proud of the team for keeping our poise and making plays consistently, especially in the last two sets.  Most of all I'm happy for players because they earned this one tonight and it feels really good to leave here with a quality win."
 
McHUGH ON 2,000
"It's an amazing feeling, I couldn't have done it without my teammates though. After last season, coming to Chattanooga and sweeping them is great. It's going set the tone for who we are as a team this year."

UPCOMING
The Spartans with continue their two-game road trip with a match against ETSU at 4 p.m. tomorrow afternoon.