Oct. 11, 2005

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - The Western Carolina Catamount volleyball team struggled to get the offense rolling Tuesday night, falling in straight sets, 3-0 (30-21, 30-24, 30-18) to the East Tennessee State Buccaneers in the first non-conference meeting between the two schools since ETSU left the Southern Conference.

Western was led on the night by senior Ellie Talbot with eight kills and nine digs. Sophomore Meredith Harmon killed seven, while junior Heather Koontz tallied six and five digs. Koontz' classmate, setter Meghan Boyle, dished out a match-high 25 assists while Kate Willard recorded another match-best with 12 digs.

The Catamounts were out-blocked at the net, 6-2, by the Bucs. Sophomore Danielle Spitzer recorded one solo and one block assist for Western, with Koontz providing the only other assist for the Cats.

Two Bucs hit over .400 in the match as junior Jennifer Sartor killed 17 with just three errors on a .483 attack percentage, while sophomore Callie Kiselich missed double-figures by one, finishing with nine kills and eight digs. Junior Brittany Kessel led ETSU with the only double-double of the night, dishing out 17 assists and digging 10.

The win for East Tennessee State was their eighth-straight to improve to 14-5 overall on the season. Western, who had been victorious in three of its last five, including consecutive five-game home wins on back-to-back Tuesdays, dropped to 5-15 overall.

The Catamounts return to action in a huge weekend homestand this Saturday and Sunday in Cullowhee. Western hosts Elon in historic Reid Gymnasium on Saturday evening at 7:00 pm, with the UNC Greensboro Spartans calling on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 pm in the Ramsey Center. WCU will try and snap a two-game losing skid to the Phoenix, while it looks to capitalize on recent success against the Spartans. The Catamounts have beaten UNCG in 14-consecutive meetings, including a 3-0 victory in Cullowhee last October.