CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Freshman Bailey Hartsough and seniors Merry Gebel and Sydney Carlson each tied or recorded career-highs as the Western Carolina volleyball team dropped a 3-1 match to UNCG on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center on Wednesday night. UNCG won the match by scores of 25-22, 21-25, 25-19, and 25-21.

The Spartans improve to 17-3 overall and 6-1 in league play while WCU drops to 8-10 and 4-3.

Hartsough tied her career-high of 18 kills and tallied a career-best 16 digs for her first career double-double. Gebel recorded 14 kills and matched a career-best mark of 18 digs, earning her 10^th double-double of the year. Carlson posted a team-best 23 assists and a career-best 13 digs for her second double-double, while sophomore Destinee Dorsey finished with a team-best 20 digs and classmate Eden Punch tallied a match-high six blocks.

Kayla White led UNCG with 22 kills followed by Brittany Wood with 15. Jenna Wiggs led four Spartans in double-figure digs with 20.  

Tied at 12 after the Catamounts erased an early five-point deficit in the opening set, UNCG used an 8-1 run for a 20-13 lead. WCU fought back, taking seven of the next eight points to pull within one, 22-21, following a Hartsough kill. After the teams traded the next two points, a kill by Wood gave the Spartans set point with a White kill clinching the opening stanza for the visitors.

A Julia Gardon kill gave the Catamounts a 17-9 advantage in the second set following a 10-3 run by the home squad. UNCG rallied back as consecutive Wood kills brought them within two, 18-16. WCU responded with three straight points and led by no fewer than three as a Hartsough kill closed out the set and tied the match at 1.

The Spartans took a 10-4 lead in the third set and enjoyed a 13-7 advantage after a White kill. The Catamounts pulled within three, 13-10, after a combined block by Hartsough and Punch but would get no closer for the rest of the set.

After the Catamounts took a 4-2 lead early in the fourth set, UNCG answered with an 8-1 scoring spurt to lead 10-5. The Spartans took a set-best eight-point lead, 19-11, following a Catamount error. WCU didn't go down without a fight, thought, scoring eight of the next 10 points to pull within two, 22-20. UNCG responded with consecutive kills and following a Gardon kill, White wrapped up the match with a kill.

WCU continues its current four-match homestand on Saturday, welcoming The Citadel at 6 p.m.

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