Sept. 14, 2005

Final Stats

Spartanburg, S.C. - Sparked by a decisive blocking advantage in game three of their 2005 Southern Conference opener, the Western Carolina Catamount volleyball team rallied to defeat the Wofford Terriers, 3-1 (18-30, 30-25, 31-29, 30-24) Tuesday night at the Benjamin Johnson Arena. The win was Western's second of the season and marked the third-consecutive victory over the Terriers.

Junior Heather Koontz keyed the Western Carolina (2-8, 1-0 SoCon) comeback with a career-high 18 kills on 47 total attacks for a .319 hitting percentage in the match. She added 19 digs to record her first double-double of the season. Senior Ellie Talbot tallied 15 kills and 22 digs to also record the double tilt, while sophomore Danielle Spitzer hammered home 11 and blocked a team-high five. Her classmate, Meredith Harmon, was one kill shy of double-figures, finishing with nine and tying Spitzer with five total blocks.

Junior setter Meghan Boyle, had a double-double performance, dishing out 48 assists and digging 12 in the win, adding five kills as well, while Kate Willard led the Cats with 29 digs from her libero position.

Western, who only played a total of seven players all night, dropped the opening game of the match, 30-18. Wofford hit a match-high .475, with 21 kills while only committing two errors. The Terriers raced to an 11-3 lead and never looked back to take the early lead in the match.

In the second game, Western opened up the early advantage, 4-1, before Wofford rattled off four consecutive service points to reclaim the lead, 5-4. The Terriers would lead by three at 15-12 before a Western rally pushed the Catamounts ahead for good. Western closed out the match with a service ace and a kill to win, 30-25, and even the match at one apiece.

The turning point in the contest, however, came during the third game. Through the first two games, the Catamounts had only managed two total blocks. Challenged by first-year head coach Stephanie Dragan, Western's front line responded, swatting seven Terrier attempts en route to the tough 31-29 edge to pull ahead two games to one. The Cats trailed by as many as six in the opening stages of the game only to see that deficit chipped away then rebuilt by Wofford. Western rallied to 28-24, then took advantage of a pair of Terrier errors, two Koontz kills, and a Spitzer solo block to take the game.

Game four was nip-and-tuck most of the way until the Catamounts managed to edge ahead, 13-8, then threatened to blow it open, surging ahead 23-13. But the Terriers nipped away, scoring five consecutive, and nine of the next 12 points to close to within five at 26-21. However, Western finished off the match with thundering kills by both Spitzer and Talbot.

Wofford (3-3, 0-1 SoCon) recorded a pair of school records in the loss. Junior Christal Carey set a team mark for digs in a four-game match with 33, bettering Lyndsay Lyman's standard of 29 which also was set against the Catamounts (9-17-02). Senior Rhea DeJesus tied her own Wofford record with 60 assists for a four-game match. Leading the Terrier offense was freshman Brittany Thompson with 21 kills, while fellow rookie Liz Sheets had 12 kills on 34 total attacks.

Western Carolina returns to action this Saturday, Sept. 17 in a pair of matches in the UNC Asheville Invitational.