Sept. 27, 2006

Final Stats

Boone, N.C. - Appalachian State hit an even .300 on the night while limiting the Western Carolina Catamounts to just .085 collectively as a team in a 3-0 (30-24, 30-22, 30-20) sweep Wednesday night in Southern Conference volleyball action at the Holmes Center.

The loss extended Western's drought against the arch-rival Mountaineers to eight matches. It also handed WCU its fourth consecutive league defeat.

Junior Meredith Harmon led Western's offensive attack with 12 kills giving her four-consecutive, double-digit performances, all in league play. The Villa Hills, Ky., native is averaging 11.5 kills per match or 3.29 kills per game in SoCon action. Freshman Katie Hennessey passed out 27 assists on the night.

Freshman Liz Rondone again anchored the Catamount defense posting 22 digs. After entering the match with a 5.99 digs per game average, which ranked 14th nationally, Rondone raised her average to just over six digs per game. Senior Meghan Boyle added a dozen digs while freshman Brittny Johnson led the team with six total blocks in the loss.

In game one the Mountaineers recorded 20 digs on their way to a .312 hitting percentage and a 30-24 victory. Junior Brittany Zahn recorded six kills in game two as ASU went on to a 30-22 game-win. In the third game, Appalachian held Western Carolina to a .050 hitting percentage on its way to a 30-20 win and 3-0 match victory.

Appalachian State (9-7, 3-1 SoCon) was led by Zahn who finished the night with a match-high 16 kills and a .344 hitting percentage. The Charlotte, N.C. native has now hit in double-digit kills in all 16 matches this season.

Seniors Chrissy Finch and Rachel Gates led the ASU defense with 12 and 11 digs, respectively and junior Lorelle Rau chipped in nine digs apiece and added 42 assists.

Western (4-16, 0-4 SoCon) will take a few days off before heading to Statesboro,Ga. to take on Georgia Southern on Sunday, October 1 at 2:00 pm.