Nov. 12, 2005

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina senior Ellie Talbot recorded her 15th double-double of the season Saturday night, leading the Catamounts with 16 kills and a match-high 19 digs, but the Catamounts dropped their fourth-straight, falling 3-1 (30-26, 21-30, 30-24, 30-24) to the Elon Phoenix in Alumni Gym.

Talbot moved into sole possession of fourth on Western's all-time digs list with 1,237 over the past four years. She tied now fifth-place, Ramsey Herron, on senior night last Thursday.

Sophomore Danielle Spitzer turned things around on Saturday, recording her second-best attack percentage of the season, .529, to finish with 11 kills. Her .500-plus hitting percentage marked her best out put since early October and the tenth-time this season she has reached double-digits in kills. Joining her and Talbot in double-figures was junior Krista Neumann with 10 kills and three total blocks, with sophomore Meredith Harmon just missing double-digits with nine kills and four total blocks.

Junior Heather Koontz struggled offensively, only tallying a pair of kills, but was keen on the defensive end registering 14 digs, while her classmate, libero Kate Willard, added a dozen and two service aces.

After swapping back-and-forth to a 12-12 tie in game one, Elon used a 5-0 run behind strong hitting to take a five-point, 17-12 advantage. The Catamounts clawed to within three at 28-25, but the Phoenix never relinquished their lead, closing out the game, 30-26, on kills from Juliena Gigon and Emily Lucci.

In Western's lone set tally, the Catamounts took an early lead in the second game and led by four for most of the contest. Ahead 23-19, Western Carolina went on a 7-2 sprint to finish the game 30-21.

In the third game, the Phoenix raced to a commanding 5-0 lead and never looked back. Elon went ahead 13-6 before the Catamounts battled back within four points at 15-11 behind the offense of Spitzer. Elon then regained control and rolled to a 10-point lead, 24-14, on a kill from Britany Westphal. Elon stayed on top the rest of the game and finished the contest, 30-24, on a kill from Ashley Ruckert. The Phoenix posted a .412 attack percentage in the game as compared to .108 for the Catamounts.

Trailing two games to one, Western Carolina took a 7-5 lead in game four before Elon knotted the score 7-7 on a kill from Westphal. After a 9-9 tie, the Phoenix scored the next four points to go ahead 13-9. Elon extended its lead to as many as eight before Western Carolina came back to within four, 26-22, on a kill from Harmon. But Elon quickly finished the game 30-24 to take the match.

Westphal led the Elon offense with 19 kills on 40 attempts and six errors for a .325 hitting percentage. Ruckert added 17 kills while Gigon posted a double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs. Brooke Pickard led the defense with 16 digs while Emily Downing added 12. Natalie Moore recorded 61 assists for the Phoenix along with two service aces.

Western will try and close out the regular season with a win and with hopes of advancing its seed in the upcoming SoCon volleyball championship on Sunday, traveling to UNC Greensboro for a 2:00 pm match. As of right now, the eighth-place tie between WCU and Elon would relegate the Cats to the ninth seed due to having been swept by the Phoenix this season. A Western win on Sunday, coupled with a Chattanooga victory over the Phoenix in Elon, would move WCU back to eighth.