Oct. 1, 2004

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - Trailing two games to one, the Western Carolina Catamount volleyball team rallied to win game four, but could not overcome errors in the fifth, falling to the Elon Phoenix, 3-2 (30-24, 24-30, 17-30, 30-23, 9-15), Friday night in the 2004 home opener.

The loss drops the Cats' to 5-7 overall, 1-2 in the Southern Conference and kept last year's streak of the visiting edging out the host intact. Elon improves to 8-7 overall, unbeaten in two attempts in conference play.

Leading the way for the Catamounts was sophomore Kellyn Thaut who tallied 21 kills and 11 digs in the losing effort. Elon was paced by freshman Britany Wesphal, who finished with a match-high 28 kills and two service aces.

Western Carolina took control in game one, out hitting the Phoenix 19-14 in kills to take the early lead on a 30-24 victory. However, Elon rallied back to win the second and third games, tallying a combined 40 kills versus WCU's 24. The Cats hit a match-low .027 in the game three, coupled with the Phoenix netting a .390 attack percentage on 21 kills in the 30-17 win for the Phoenix.

However, the roles were reversed in the fourth game as the Catamounts finished with 14 kills while only committing three errors and forcing 10 Phoenix attack errors to continue the match, 30-23.

In the fifth and deciding game, Western raced out to a 6-2 advantage, prompting an Elon timeout. After the stoppage, the Phoenix rattled off three consecutive points to pull to within one. The Phoenix would pull ahead at 10-9, finishing off the match with four WCU attack errors.

Joining Thaut to lead the Catamounts were freshman Melissa Parana, who tallied 14 kills and Stefanie Peters adding 10. Libero Ellie Talbot finished with a match-high 17 digs for the Cats and setter Meghan Boyle had 41 assists.

In addition to Wesphal, a trio of Elon players finished with double-digit kills as senior Emily Hayes finished with 17 and freshman Emily Lucci pouring in 14. Juliena Gigon had a team-high in digs with 15.

Western Carolina continues their two-match home stand on Saturday, October 2 as they host UNC Greensboro in Southern Conference action. The match is scheduled for a 2:00 pm start. Elon travels to Appalachian State on Saturday, October 2.