Oct. 4, 2005

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - With five Catamounts in double-figures, Western Carolina raced to a 2-0 lead then held on to knock off the Furman Lady Paladins, 3-2 (30-20, 30-28, 26-30, 28-30, 15-13) Tuesday night in Southern Conference volleyball action in the Ramsey Center.

The win was Western's third in its last four matches, which included its second, five-game victory on consecutive Tuesdays. The Cats moved to 4-3 in SoCon play and improved to 5-13 on the season. Furman dropped its third-straight, falling to 5-10 overall, 1-4 in league play.

"It was great to pick up another win and get above .500 in league play," said first-year head coach Stephanie Dragan. "It might not be the best thing in that it's taking us five to earn wins, but when we head to that rally fifth, we have confidence that we're going to pull out the win. We fed off of that confidence early to build the lead and get the win."

In the deciding fifth game, Western used the serve of junior Krista Neumann to race to an early 9-2 advantage over the Lady Paladins, prompting a Furman timeout. After the stoppage, Furman chipped away at the lead scoring nine of the next 12 points to close to within one, 12-11.

But the Catamounts regained composure, not relinquishing the lead as sophomore Meredith Harmon slammed a kill to push the cushion back to two only to see Furman inch back to within one a play later. Leading 14-13, the Lady Paladins committed their 15th service error of the match which gave Western the 15-13 game and match win.

Western was led by senior Ellie Talbot's double-double performance of 16 kills and 21 digs. Joining the lone WCU senior with a double-double were a trio of juniors. Setter Meghan Boyle dished out 55 assists and dug 16, with classmates Heather Koontz killing 13 and digging 12 and Krista Neumann adding 10 kills and digs. Harmon added 11 kills and three total blocks to lead the Cats at the net.

One of the more telling stats on the night, though, was the play of sophomore Danielle Spitzer, who hit a career-high .542. The Birmingham, Ala. Native killed 14 while only committing one error on 24 total attacks.

"Danielle (Spitzer) really hit the ball well tonight," Dragan said. "We've been waiting for her break out match and this could be it. We'll try and build upon her outstanding performance tonight."

Defensively, junior libero Kate Willard finished with a career-best 30 digs, improving upon her previous high by one. Willard's total was the highest among everyone who played on the night.

The Catamounts used six kills from Spitzer to win game one, 30-20, and eight kills in game two alone from Talbot to climb on top two-games to none, 30-28. But the Lady Paladins clawed back into the match by taking game three. The Catamounts stove off elimination for four consecutive points before bowing out, 30-26, when Furman's Molly Rybak hammered home an over ball to seal the deal.

Game four saw 12 ties and four lead changes in the nip-and-tuck battle won by Furman to force the fifth game. The furthest either team could position itself from the other was a three-point advantage, earned on two separate occasions by Western. Tied at 28, the Paladins scored the final two points tie the match at two games apiece.

On the night, Furman was led by sophomore Chibuzo Aguocha with a career-high 29 kills and 19 digs. The Houston, Tx., native added three total blocks in the loss. Junior Whitney Purser added 23 kills and 16 digs, while the setter, Rybak, recorded the double-double by dishing out 47 assists and digging 14.

Western Carolina returns home on Sunday, Oct. 9 to host Georgia Southern in SoCon action at the Ramsey Center.