Sept. 17, 2005

Final Stats

Asheville, N.C. - Western Carolina struggled to find its offensive groove against the red-hot UNC Asheville Bulldogs, falling in straight sets, 3-0 (30-24, 30-13, 30-26), Saturday night in the final game of the UNCA Bulldog Volleyball Classic from the Justice Center.

With the loss, the Catamounts fall to 2-10 overall and 1-0 in Southern Conference play. Winners of seven-straight, the Bulldogs improve to 9-2.

Western was led offensively by senior Ellie Talbot with nine kills, adding 11 digs to miss the double-double by one. Junior Meghan Boyle also just missed the double-double, dishing out 30 assists and digging nine in the loss.

Junior Heather Koontz recorded seven kills in the night cap, coupled with her 16 from the first match on the day, to earn All-tournament honors. She is the third different Catamount to earn tournament honors in Western's three early-season tourney appearances.

Western opened game one, racing out to the 6-4 advantage only to see the Bulldogs, retaliate to close the deficit and surge ahead. Standing tied at 19, UNCA used a 7-2 spurt to take a 26-21 edge and held on to take game one, 30-24.

The Cats were overwhelmed by both errors and an outstanding `Dog attack to open game two, falling behind quickly 16-6. UNC Asheville would build the advantage to as many as 15, 27-12, before finishing it off 30-13. Western was held to three kills in game two, hitting a low -.172 to trail two games to none.

In game three, the Catamounts showed renewed vigor, rallying back from a 6-2 early deficit to charge to the 12-10 lead using kills from Koontz and junior Kate Willard, who also added a service ace during the rally. But the Bulldogs hung around, knotting things at 12, 14, and 15, with the latter marking the last time they would trail. UNCA would maintain at least a two-point advantage down the stretch to take the match, 30-26.

The Catamounts open the home portion of their Southern Conference schedule this Tuesday, Sept. 20 as they host arch-rival Appalachian State at 7:00 pm in the Ramsey Center. The first 150 fans through the gates will receive a free T-shirt. Be there as the Catamounts look to ROCK RAMSEY on Tuesday night.