Sept. 20, 2005

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - Offensive struggles continued for the Western Carolina volleyball team as the Catamounts fell in straight sets, 3-0 (30-17, 30-21, 32-30) to Southern Conference rival, Appalachian State Tuesday night in the Ramsey Center. The Catamounts were limited to a .059 attack percentage despite hitting .237 as a team in a game three rally.

"It's tough to spot a team as good as Appalachian State an early advantage. And it's even tougher to mount any type of a comeback when you're struggling offensively," said first-year head coach Stephanie Dragan. "We did not hit the ball well at all tonight and that was the major difference in the game. But I thought the atmosphere in Ramsey was outstanding. We had a good turnout and a very vocal crowd, I just wish we could have capitalized on that."

The Catamounts (2-11, 1-1 SoCon) were led by senior Ellie Talbot with a team-high seven kills, with junior Heather Koontz adding six in the loss. Her classmate, setter Meghan Boyle, dished out 21 assists and killed four of her own. Sophomore Danielle Spitzer led the defensive charge for Western tallying four total blocks, while junior Kate Willard finished with 11 digs.

Western fell behind early in game one namely due to errors. The Catamounts committed eight attack errors while only countering with five kills for a dismal -.094 attack percentage. The result was a 30-17 Mountaineer win, and an early 1-0 lead for ASU.

Struggles continued in game two despite a renewed vigor from the Catamount side. Western ran out to an early 5-0 lead and nursed the advantage until the Mountaineers tied the game up at 13 apiece. After trading points, Appalachian took control with a Brittany Zahn kill to surge ahead 17-16. From that point on, the Catamounts could only close to within one at 20-19 and witnessed ASU score 10 of the final 12 points in the game to move ahead, 2-0.

After the break, Appalachian State (8-5, 1-0) appeared to be well on its way to completing the three-game sweep. But with the boisterous crowd at its back, the Catamounts mounted a charge. Trailing 20-15, Western inched closer before finally standing on the threshold of defeat with Appalachian serving match-point. Yet the Cats fought it off, scoring four-consecutive points to force an Appalachian timeout. After the stoppage, behind the serve of Krista Neumann, the Cats tallied two more points to tie the game at 29. However, the comeback fell just short as back-to-back Amy Lewis kills and a service ace by Chrissy Finch clinched the match for the Mountaineers.

Freshman Dianna Thomas led the Mountaineer attack, killing 12 on a .238 attack percentage. Preseason All-SoCon selection, junior Stefanie Panzer, also reached double digits with 11 kills with only three errors for a .364 hitting percentage. Sophomore Lorrelle Rau dished out 42 assists, while Finch and senior Kali Rumberger finished with 11 and 10 digs apiece.

Appalachian State visits Chattanooga on Saturday, Sept. 24, while Western returns home to host the Davidson Wildcats in Southern Conference action. With Mountain Heritage Day slated to be on campus this weekend, the match will be held in historic Reid Gymnasium, where the Catamounts are 10-1 since moving into the Ramsey Center full-time in 1999. The Catamounts have won two-straight over the Wildcats entering Saturday's showdown.