Sept. 15, 2006
Western Carolina vs. High Point - Final Stats
Western Carolina vs. Kent State - Final Stats
Cullowhee, N.C. -
Freshman libero Liz Rondone set a school record with 41 digs in an exciting five game Western Carolina win over the High Point Panthers to highlight the first day of the Catamount Clash V volleyball tournament. Western split its two matches, which represented its first home-court appearances of the season, defeating the aforementioned Panthers and falling in the night cap to Kent State, 3-0.
Overall, two teams remain unbeaten in tournament play as both Kent State and Valparaiso each were victorious in their two opening day matches. The remaining two entries in the fifth-installment of the tournament hosted in the Ramsey Center will each enter Saturday searching for their first wins on the weekend as both High Point and Kennesaw State went 0-2 in Friday's action. WCU stands in the middle at 1-1, and will be the only squad to play a total of four matches.
Western (3-10), which will play more matches than any other team in the tournament with four, also played the longest match of the tournament on opening day as the Catamounts rallied from down 2-1 to defeat High Point in five. A total of seven players, including four for WCU, reached double-digits in kills.
"This could have been our most solid match thus far this season," said Western Carolina head coach Stephanie Dragan. "We showed the same poise as we did in the five-game win over Charlotte and earned a great win - and a great win in five games which will only help build our confidence. After playing a match that was both physically and emotionally draining against High Point, I really felt we were drained against Kent State. We had an amazing crowd that we fed off of early on, but Kent State is a solid team and you have to be at your best - they took advantage of our miscues.
In addition to Rondone establishing the new benchmark for digs, two Catamounts surpassed career highs in the win. Freshman setter Katie Hennessey dished out a career-best 57 assists and tallied a career number of digs with 17. Junior middle blocker Meredith Harmon hammered home a career-high 22 kills in the winning effort and was also a part of a strong Catamount block as Western posted 13 total team blocks. The Villa Hills, Ky., native finished with six, while freshman Brittny Johnson led the team with seven, including three solo stops.
"Liz (Rondone) was simply phenomenal for us today," said Dragan after a long day of volleyball action at the Catamount Clash. "She continues to get touches on hits that opponents think are down. She has such a great instinct to the ball and was a main reason we stayed close in the High Point match and she helped keep us in the fight with Kent State. I also felt like Meredith and Katie did a good job of connecting today and that translated into Meredith's big day offensively."
Senior Meghan Boyle just missed joining the 30-dig club, tallying 27 in the win with four block assists, as well. Her classmates, Heather Koontz and Krista Neumann, poured in 15 and 12 kills, respectively, with Koontz adding 13 digs for the double-double
Aside from game four in which Western hit over .300 while High Point was a negative 87 and the three-point deciding game five, the first three games of the match went right down to the wire, each decided by two points. The Catamounts won the first game, 30-28, but dropped back-to-back games by identical, 31-to-29, scores.
In the night cap, Western struggled offensively to find a rhythm despite continued solid defensive play by Rondone who finished with 25 digs. Harmon again led the Catamounts offensively just missing double-digits with nine kills while Hennessey added eight kills to accompany her 25 assists. Koontz also finished with eight kills in the loss.
Western Carolina opens action on the final day of the Catamount Clash V in the first of two matches on the day. The Catamounts host Valparaiso at 9:00 am and Kennesaw State at 2:00 pm. Sandwiched in between the two Ramsey Center appearances by the Purple and Gold will be the Kent State - High Point meeting at 11:30 am. Admission to the event is free.
Live GameTracker - presented by Carolina West Sports Medicine and West Care - will be provided for each match of the Catamount Clash V and will be available through www.CatamountSports.com. Also, Valparaiso will be offering live audio of each one of their matches in Cullowhee this weekend. The Source 95's Erick Brooks and Miles Janssen will have the call with audio available at www.valpo.edu/athletics. (WCU vs. Valpo, 9 AM Saturday).
Catamount Clash V - Other Tournament Recaps:
Valparaiso 3, High Point 0
Cullowhee, N.C. - Backed by an offense that committed just 16 errors on 105 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .324, the Valparaiso Crusaders opened the Catamount Clash V tournament with a bang, sweeping the High Point Panthers, 3-0, on Friday morning in front of 67 fans, mostly clad in yellow and brown.
The Crusaders were led by Nicole Schulz with 14 kills and a sizzling .619 attack percentage, committing just one error on 21 total attacks. Jessie Fox also reached double-digits with a dozen kills, while Kim Bukowski recorded a match-high 23 digs.
High Point, which struggled to hit 0.50 as a team for the match, was led by Sabrina Wahid and Audie Gonzalez with six kills apiece. Kristina Taylor led the Panthers with 19 digs.
Kent State 3, Kennesaw State 0
Cullowhee, N.C. - Three Kent State attackers hit over .400 while combining for 22 of the team's 42 kills as the Golden Flashes hit their way through their Catamount Clash opener, sweeping the first-year Kennesaw State Owls, 3-0, on Friday morning in the Ramsey Center.
Kent State put one in double figures as Ashley Feutz finished with 10 kills in the win, hitting a team-best .455 (10 kills on 22 attempts without an error). Setter Katie Veatch dished out 21 assists while Laura Jensen led the Golden Flashes with eight digs.
The Owls were led by Asjia Stokes with eight kills, with setter Ginny Frederick passing out 17 assists.
Valparaiso 3, Kennesaw State 0
Cullowhee, N.C. - Valparaiso hit above the .300 mark for its second-straight match in the Catamount Clash, while limiting the first-year Kennesaw State program to 17 total kills and a negative attack percentage to remain unbeaten on the first day of tournament play with the 3-0 sweep of the Owls.
The Crusaders (7-5) were led by Val Bollenbacher with 10 kills, while Allison Sears finished with eight. Sara Hughes dished out 27 total assists and Brittany Marks was the lone player in the match to reach double figures in digs.
Kennessaw State (1-10) had seven different players record kills, but none secured more than four. Jenny Black led the Owls with four kills in the loss.
Catamount Clash V Tournament Standings:
Kent State - 2-0
Valparaiso - 2-0
Western Carolina - 1-1
High Point 0-2
Kennesaw State -0-2
Saturday's Schedule (tourney record):
Western Carolina (1-1) vs. Valparaiso (2-0) - 9:00 am
High Point (0-2) vs. Kent State (2-0) - 11:30 am
Western Carolina vs. Kennesaw State (0-2)
*Note - Kent State and Valparaiso do not play each other in the tournament
