Sept. 17, 2005
Final Stats
LIVE Audio - Western Carolina vs. UNC Asheville - HERE
Asheville, N.C. - Despite putting four in double-figures, including a pair of double-doubles, the Western Carolina Catamount volleyball team fell in four games to the Samford Bulldogs, 3-1 (28-30, 30-27, 30-24, 30-22) in their first match of the UNC Asheville Bulldog Volleyball Classic.
Western is now 4-3 all-time versus Samford as the loss avenged a Western victory at the Samford Invitational tournament in early September.
Western (2-9, 1-0) was paced in the match by double-doubles from senior Ellie Talbot and junior Meghan Boyle. Talbot hammered home 15 kills and dug 12, while Boyle dished out a season-high 57 assists, adding 11 digs. Boyle's classmate, Heather Koontz, led the Catamount offense with 16 kills, with sophomore Danielle Spitzer adding 10 and four total blocks in the losing effort.
Defensively, junior Kate Willard came up with a match-high 24 digs for Western.
The Catamounts fell behind early in game one, trailing Samford 6-1 out of the gates. But, behind Willard's serve, Western was able to pull back within one on five-consecutive points, 6-5. But that would be the story of the game as Western would fall behind the Bulldogs only to rally to within one or tie, but were unable to pull ahead, falling 30-28.
Turnabout was fair play in game two as the script was flipped and it was the Bulldogs playing catch-up. Western raced to the early 5-1 advantage only to see Samford claw back to tie the game at five apiece, then surge ahead. Using kills from Spitzer and sophomore Meredith Harmon, Western was able to reclaim the lead, 14-11.
After a Boyle dump kill that gave Western the 29-25 advantage, Western had three attempts at game point before Koontz evened the game with a kill to even the match at one-game apiece. In all, the Cats were only able to open up leads of four points on two occasions in the nip-and-tuck battle, winning despite being out hit by Samford .375-to-.421.
Game three opened as did the first, with Samford taking the early advantage and outlasting Western's rally to win, 30-24. The Catamounts trailed by as many as four midway through the game, but kept things close until errors on both attacks and Bulldog services propelled Samford to the 2-1 match lead.
Errors also hurt Western's chances in what became the deciding game four. After losing the serve, the Cats fell behind early, 6-1. The Bulldogs used a 7-2 run midway through the match to take a 21-13 lead. The Catamounts fought back, though, closing to within three, 24-21, before three consecutive points by the Bulldogs seemingly sealed the deal.
The Catamounts will conclude play in the tournament on Saturday night at 7:00 pm as they battle the host UNCA Bulldogs at 7:00 pm. Fans can follow the play-by-play action online tonight by visiting UNCA's website, www.uncabulldogs.com.
