Oct. 14, 2003

Final Stats

Boone, N.C. - Western Carolina University volleyball dropped a 3-1 decision to rival Appalachian State Tuesday evening at the Holmes Center as ASU grabbed a share of first place in the Southern Conference's North Division with the 30-20, 27-30, 30-25, 30-22 victory.

The Mountaineers (7-12, 5-2 SoCon) came out firing in the first game, firing 19 kills and outhitting the Catamounts .429 to .184 en route to the 30-20 win.

After Western (11-10, 4-4 SoCon) knotted the match at a game apiece with a 30-27 win in game two, Appalachian posted 19 kills once again in game three to take the lead for good with a 30-25 victory.

Despite collecting a match-low 13 kills in game four, Appalachian was able to take advantage of Western's .000 hitting percentage to claim the game and the match with a 30-22 win.

Appalachian rode a balanced attack to the victory, as five different Mountaineers notched double-digit kills. Jackie Jennings led the way with 13, while Katherine Dean, Kali Rumberger and Samantha Giudici all added 12 and Stefanie Panzer chipped in with 11. Rumberger also collected 14 digs to register a double-double.

Western Carolina was paced by freshman Kellyn Thaut, who recorded a double-double for the Cats with 14 kills and 17 digs. Senior Shari Harder posted seven kills on 10 attacks with no errors for a .700 hitting percentage in the Cats' effort, adding 38 assists, 15 digs and two blocks. Sara Komosinski had a team-high four blocks on the night.

Western is set to host Georgia Southern Friday night, Oct. 17, in Reid Gym. Match time is scheduled for 7 pm. The Catamounts will continue their play in Reid on Sunday as they host Davidson at 4 pm.