Oct. 13, 2002

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - The Western Carolina volleyball team shut down The Citadel, 30-23, 30-17, 30-20, to take the match in three games. With the win, WCU improves to 15-7 (7-3 SoCon) and the Bulldogs fall to 5-12 (0-8 SoCon).

The Citadel had the lead once in the first game at 2-1 after a service ace by Nicole Montu. The Cats took the lead back after an attack error by Samantha Parisi and kept it through the rest of the game to win 30-23.

The Bulldogs could not gain control during the remainder of the match. Powered by nine service aces from the Lady Cats and 10 team blocks, Western took the next two games for the victory over The Citadel. WCU also hit a .299 for the match to the Bulldogs' .046 average.

"Our offense and defense really came together today," said head coach Angell Benson. "I'm glad that we finished the first half of the season on a good note today."

Junior Tricia Eble dominated the match, going 5-5 in kills and no errors in the first game for a perfect 100 percent hitting average. Eble finished the match with no errors and a .733 hitting percentage, a new Catamount record for a single match. The previous record was held by 1990 SoCon Player of the Year Regina Brown, who hit 69 percent versus Marshall on Sept. 16, 1990. Sara Komosinski also had a good match for the Cats, leading the team with 14 kills and only two errors for a .429 hitting percentage. Alex Arendell led for the second straight day in digs with 12, adding 13 assists. Shari Harder posted 25 assists for the match. Freshman Eleanor Talbot posted a season-high five blocks and added three service aces, while Felicity Ribalkin served up three aces in a row of her own during the second game.

The Bulldogs were led by Montu with 11 kills for the match. Desiree Browning posted 25 assists, while Parisi led the team in digs with nine.

The Catamounts are set to host East Tennessee State on Wednesday (Oct. 16) at 7 pm in the Ramsey Center.