Box Score Sept. 7, 2014

Final Stats

High Point, N.C. - For just the 12th time in Western Carolina volleyball program history, a Catamount has reached the 1,000 career kills milestone. Jordan Timmermann needed 13 kills heading into Sunday afternoon's tilt at in-state foe High Point. The Catamounts relied on their senior throughout the match as she tallied a team-high 15 kills on 46 swings as the WCU won in five sets over the Panthers.

Timmermann's 1,000th kill came on the Catamounts third point of the fifth set. She would go on to register her 1,001st and 1,002nd kill later in the fifth set including putting down the match clinching kill with Western Carolina up 14-13. She joins an elite list of 11 other Catamounts who have reached the prestigious milestone. She needs just six more kills to pass Kim Spruill (1985-88) for 11th all-time in program history.

Timmermann is the first Catamount since 2003 to reach 1,000 kills following in Sara Komosinski's (2000-04) footsteps.

"As a staff and a team, we do wish to congratulate Jordan (Timmermann) on reaching 1,000 career kills during today's match," said head coach Karen Glover. "It is quite an accomplishment."

The Catamounts won the first, third and fifth sets by scores of 25-20, 25-20 and 15-13, respectively, while the Panthers won the second and fourth sets, 25-13 and 25-19. The win improved WCU's record to 2-3 while High Point fell to 2-3 on the year.

"I was really proud of our team's fighting spirit in today's match," said Glover. "I feel that we need to take better care of the ball throughout the match, but we got many timely kills from our hitters when it mattered most today."

Seniors Addy George and Caitlin Piechota added 10 kills each to the Catamount attack while Timmermann and Piechota each registered double-doubles with 13 and 10 digs, respectively. Timmermann also chipped in five blocks while junior Nicole Ford led the way with seven put-backs including one solo stop.

Freshman Jo-Leigh Vervelde and junior Cristina Nazario split time at setter as Vervelde dished out 21 assists and Nazario handed out 19. Vervelde was the third Catamount to register a double-double as she picked up 12 digs. It was the first double-double of her collegiate career. Junior Elyssa Mulheron led the backline with 19 digs.

The Catamounts jumped out of the gate taking a 12-6 lead in the opening set capped off by a Timmermann kill. The Panthers responded with an 8-2 run to tie the opening set at 14 but Nazario snuck in a kill to end the run and Vervelde registered one of her three service aces of the match to give WCU back the advantage. The Catamounts would hold onto the lead the rest of the set eventually taking home a 25-20 victory in the opening stanza.

The Panthers came out swinging in the second set registering a .462 attack percentage as they put down 15 kills on 26 swings with just three errors. The Catamounts fell 25-13 in the set but WCU would respond in the third.

The Catamounts repeated their first set performance by jumping out to an early lead in the third. WCU took a 17-10 advantage midway through the period but just like the first set the Panthers would not go down easy as they used a 5-1 run to cut the Catamount's lead to just three at 18-15. Three Catamount blocks down the stretch helped WCU salt the third set away as the Cats took another 25-20 victory.

The fourth set was nearly identical to the second as the Panthers once again found their offensive groove hitting .314 as a team. HPU jumped out to a 9-1 lead and the Panthers would never trail in the set as they won 25-19.

The fifth and final set was the most competitive of the match with four separate lead changes.

The Panthers took the early advantage but a 5-2 run by the Catamounts gave WCU the lead midway through the set. Timmermann capped the run with her lone service ace of the match which gave the Catamounts an 8-7 lead. After the Catamounts went up 9-8 on a kill by senior Brandi Anderson, the Panthers used their first timeout of the set.

Following the minute break, an attack error by the Panthers gave WCU a 10-8 advantage and the Panthers used their final timeout of the match. The second timeout worked for the Panthers as they responded with a 4-1 run to take a 12-11 lead. WCU then used their first timeout of the set and once again the timeout proved fruitful for the trailing team.

The Catamounts came out of the break and rattled off a 4-1 run that was capped by Timmermann's match-clinching kill giving WCU a 15-13 victory.

High Point was paced by Chelsea Davis who registered a match-high 21 kills for the Panthers. Gabi Mirand dished out 50 assists while also digging up 17 balls for HPU.

The Catamounts open the home portion of their schedule this Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 7:00 pm in the Ramsey Center as they welcome in Charlotte. The Catamounts are 18-18 all-time against the 49ers.