Sept. 30, 2003

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina's women's volleyball team preserved its home unbeaten streak Tuesday night as the Catamounts defeated East Tennessee State, 30-17, 30-24, 28-30, 30-22. The Cats improve to 9-7 (2-1 SoCon) and increase their home record to 6-0. The Bucs fall to 2-13 overall and 0-3 in the conference.

Western came out strong in the first game, posting a match-high .438 hitting percentage, while ETSU hit .091 percent. The Catamounts kept the pressure on throughout the match, tallying 10 team aces. WCU also dominated defensively by recording a season-high 90 digs and adding nine team blocks, while the Bucs had 76 digs and seven team blocks.

East Tennessee relied heavily on the leadership of senior Kate Steidle, who led the team with 13 kills on 42 attacks, posting a .190 attack percentage. Defensively, Karen Freeburg picked up 15 digs to lead the Bucs and Lissa Allen posted a team-leading five blocks and three aces. ETSU hit .109 for the night.

Michelle Gorton recorded a team-leading, season-high .632 hitting percentage with 13 kills on 19 attacks and one error. Kellyn Thaut additionally tallied a season-high 24 points (19 kills, four aces, two assisted blocks) to lead the Cats. Sara Komosinski, WCU's all-time leading blocker, added five more to her career total, now with 395 blocks in her four-year career. Shari Harder, who led the match with 47 assists, picked up a match-high 20 digs as well. The Cats hit .265 overall for the match.

WCU continues its home stand as the Catamounts play host to UNC Greensboro Thursday, Oct. 2, at 7 pm.