Oct. 7, 2006

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - In just 23 matches and 86 total games this season, Western Carolina freshman Liz Rondone today set a school-record for digs in a single-season. Rondone entered the match 11 digs shy of breaking the record and needed just two games to accomplish the feat en route to joining the 30-dig club for the fourth-time this season in a 3-2 (22-30, 33-31, 30-20, 16-30, 15-12) loss to The Citadel Saturday afternoon in the Ramsey Center.

Rondone, who earlier this season also set the school-record for digs in a match with a career-best 41 in a home win over High Point, finished with a match-high 30 digs in the losing effort to give her 517 on the season. The freshman from Bloomington, Ill., surpassed the record of senior teammate, Kate Willard, who set the benchmark a year ago with 497.

"I am disappointed that we could not have played better to have a win to coincide with Lizzy's (Rondone) record," said head coach Stephanie Dragan. "I felt we started the match well, but became complacent until game four when we played our best ball of the match. In game five, I think we got too tight on the floor and give credit to The Citadel, they took advantage to earn the win. As a team right now, we have a lot to talk about."

Nearly lost in the shuffle of the record and the defeat were the solid hitting performances of three Catamounts, two of which were neck-and-neck throughout the match. Freshman Brittny Johnson and junior Meredith Harmon each hit a match-high .381, with Johnson recording a career-high 21 kills and Harmon keeping pace with 20.

The third WCU player to reach double-figures was senior Heather Koontz, who was one of two Catamounts to post double-doubles finishing with 15 kills and 10 digs. Freshman setter Katie Hennessey also did the double by passing out a career-best 60 assists and totaling 14 digs. Also recording a career-best was freshman Lauren Brown with 15 digs.

"Liz continued her solid play today for us. When the match started to intensify in the later games, she was right there to help us out defensively and I would like to congratulate her on the single-season record," added Dragan. "But I also think our two middles, Brittny (Johnson) and Meredith (Harmon) played well and were smart with their placement."

The Catamounts (5-18, 1-6 SoCon) gained control of the match early-on with a 30-22 win in game one, hitting a seasonal-best .406 with 17 kills and just four errors on 32 total attacks. However, the lead was short-lived as the Bulldogs rallied to win a nip-and-tuck game two, 33-31, after coming back from down 27-to-24, and took the third game, 30-20, behind a match-high .306 team attack percentage.

Down 2-1, Western dominated play in game four, recording 17 kills to just one error on 43 total attacks (.372) while limiting The Citadel to a (-0.26) en route to the 30-16 victory.

In the decisive game five, Western clawed its way to an early 4-to-1 advantage using two kills from Harmon and one by red-shirt freshman Lanna Roach, who saw her first action since Sept. 16. But, The Citadel would rally, scoring six-straight points separated by a WCU timeout to turn the 4-1 deficit into a 7-4 advantage. Tied at nine, The Citadel took advantage of a Catamount service error to take the lead for good, pulling ahead by three, 13-to-10, and finishing off the match with the 15-12 win.

The Citadel (6-14, 1-7 SoCon) had three players record double-doubles led by sophomore Rachel Sanders with a team-high 21 kills and 15 digs. Senior Samantha Parisi tallied a dozen kills and 18 digs for the double, with setter Emily Hill passing out 46 assists and finishing with 10 digs in the win. Bulldog freshman Tiffany Edwards led with 23 digs for the Cadets.

Western concludes a three-match home stand on Tuesday, Oct. 10, hosting the Davidson Wildcats at 7:00 pm in the Ramsey Center. Tuesday is an "Athletes Backing Athletes" -- or ABA -- event at Western with all Catamount student-athletes encouraged to be on hand to support their fellow athletes in competition.