Oct. 20, 2006

Final Stats

Greensboro, N.C. - Western Carolina got a career-best performance by freshman Lauren Brown, but it was not enough as the Catamount volleyball team fell in straight sets to the UNC Greensboro Spartans, 3-0 (30-26, 30-19, 30-19) Friday night in Southern Conference action.

Brown led the Catamounts with 10 kills on the night, surpassing her previous career-high of seven. Senior Heather Koontz finished with seven kills, while freshman Liz Rondone led the defense with 17 digs. Senior Meghan Boyle added 13 digs while freshman Katie Hennessey finished with 10 digs and dished out 18 assists for WCU's lone double-double.

The Catamounts grabbed an early lead over UNCG in game one and the two teams played a close first set that saw eight ties in the game. After a 23-23 tie, the Spartans took the lead for good with the help from the strong Spartan blocking force of Nortz, Fuller and sophomore Liz Benzschawel. Up 29-26, Benzschawel took a feed from Fawell to put down a kill and close the game 30-26.

In game two, UNCG grabbed an early 10-4 lead that included four kills from Nortz. The Catamounts came within two at the 18-16 mark but the Spartans rattled off 12 of the games 15 final points to take the game 30-19. Fuller finished game two with three kills and a .600 hitting percentage.

The two teams played in a close third game that saw four ties in the first half. It wasn't until after a kill by Hart at the 16-13 mark that the Spartans took control. UNCG scored the games next nine points and never looked back, taking the final game by a score of 30-19.

UNC Greensboro (17-8, 7-5 SoCon) was led by senior Theresa Hart with 12 kills and 18 digs, while junior Lauren Keiser tallied seven kills for the Spartans. Sophomore Kaitlyn Nortz, senior Hilary Overby and freshman Branagan Fuller all finished with six kills for UNCG.

Western visits Elon on Saturday evening to take on the Phoenix at 6:00 pm. Elon will be providing a live webcast of the match online at http://sports.theonlyalternative.com.