Sept. 2, 2006

Final Stats

Clemson, S.C. - The Western Carolina Catamount volleyball team could not repeat what it pulled off Friday evening when it rallied from down two games to none, falling in four games, 3-1 (30-24, 30-23, 29-31, 30-16) to the Tennessee State Tigers in the first of two matches Saturday at the Clemson Big Orange Bash.

The Catamounts conclude tournament play at 3:00 pm against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Jervey Gymnasium on the Clemson University campus.

Western (1-6) put two in double-figures led by senior Heather Koontz with 11 kills and junior Meredith with 10 on a .333 attack percentage (1 error on 27 total attacks). Senior Krista Neumann just missed double-digits finishing with nine. Freshman Katie Hennessey passed out 34 assists in the loss.

Defensively, the Catamount were again paced by freshman Liz Rondone with a match-high 24 digs. The Bloomington, Ill., native was joined in double figures by senior Meghan Boyle who dug 11, with Hennessey and freshman Amanda Todd each adding seven digs.

"We are still lacking consistency from start to finish. We are tough when we're on, but right now, we are not able to put it all together," said head coach Stephanie Dragan. "Each day we are getting better and I hope that we can build upon each match, each experience."

Just like Friday evening against the Charlotte 49ers, WCU found itself in an early 2-0 hole after dropping games one and two, 30-24 and 30-23, respectively. However, the Catamounts rallied to win game three to continue the match. Western rattled off four-consecutive points on two occasions, pulling out to 18-14 and 22-16 leads midway through the game. But the Tigers came back, scoring five-straight to pull to within one, 22-21, and eventually pulling ahead, 24-23. Tied at 28, Western used kills from both Hennessey and Harmon and a TSU attack error to take the game, 31-29.

In game four, the Tigers broke things open by scoring seven-straight points to take a 19-9 lead it would never relinquish, finishing off the match with the 30-16 win.

Tennessee State (1-3), the defending Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) champion, put three in double-figures led by the double-double performance of Erika Godbolt with 20 kills and 21 digs.