Nov. 14, 2004
Final Stats
Cullowhee, N.C. -
Western Carolina raced out to a 2-0 lead on the North Division-leading Appalachian State, but the Mountaineers rallied to win three-consecutive games to take the match, 3-2 (30-27, 30-26, 24-30, 20-30, 5-15). Western concludes the regular season at 12-15 overall, 8-8 in the Southern Conference while Appalachian State finishes 24-7 on the season, 15-1 in league play.
In game one, Western broke open a 26-all tie with three consecutive points, two of which came on ASU errors, to take control and eventually win game one, 30-27. Western hit .231 to ASU's .143 to take the opener
The Catamounts continued their confident play in the second game, rallying from a 25-23 deficit to score seven of the final eight points, including a 6-0 run, in the game to put Appalachian on the verge of the sweep with the 30-26 victory.
Western trailed by as many as nine points in game three before embarking on another 6-0 run to cut the Mountaineer advantage to just one at 23-22. However, Appalachian managed a rally of its own, scoring seven of the last nine points of the game to bring itself back within striking distance in the match.
That new-found momentum carried over for the Mountaineers in game four, as ASU forced a deciding fifth with the 30-20 victory. ASU outhit WCU .239 - .054 in the fourth.
In the final game, Western never found a rhythm , struggling through a -.059 hitting percentage in the 15-5 loss.
The Catamounts were led by freshman Meredith Harmon, who tallied a career-high 15 kills on 34 attacks, while only committing five errors for a .294 attack percentage. Harmon added one solo block as the Catamounts out-blocked ASU, who entered the match leading the SoCon in blocks, 13-5. Senior Stefanie Peters recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 12 assists in her final regular season collegiate match. Her counterpart, Layna Stoetzel, finished with three kills, five assists, and a solo block.
Sophomore Heather Koontz joined Peters in recording a double-double, finishing with 11 kills and 11 digs. Junior Ellie Talbot led the Cats defensively, finishing with 25 digs.
Appalachian State had five players record double-figure kills, led by sophomore Chrissy Finch's double-double performance with 20 kills and a match-high 26 digs. Senior Samantha Giudici finished with 18 kills, followed by classmate Stephanie Panzer with 16, freshman Dianna Thomas with 15, and freshman Cali Cooper with 13.
Senior setter Amber Mangrum set an ASU record for set assists in a career, tallying a career-high 72 in the match. She finished with 4,272 career assists.
Prior to the match, Western honored its pair of seniors, Stoetzel and Peters, in a pregame ceremony. Peters finishes her career with 880 kills and 1,079 digs in 356 games, which ranks her third on the WCU all-time digs per game list. Stoetzel compiled 331 kills and 478 digs in her four years at WCU.
Western Carolina returns to action this coming Friday as a part of the 2004 Southern Conference women's volleyball championships, which will be held in Cullowhee at the Ramsey Center. Appalachian State will enter the tournament as the top seed from the north, facing the fourth seed from the south division. Western Carolina will be the third seed in the north, facing second-seeded Georgia Southern from the south.
