CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina closes out the home portion of its 2021 volleyball schedule this weekend with a pair of Southern Conference matches against teams from the South Carolina Upstate. The Catamounts host Wofford at 6 p.m. on Friday on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center and Furman at 7 p.m. Saturday in the second half of a doubleheader with the WCU football team.
Seniors
Sydney Carlson,
Merry Gebel,
Haley Multerer,
Noelle Soldo, and
MaKenzie White will be honored in a special ceremony before Friday's contest. Both matches are scheduled to be streamed on ESPN+ (
paid subscription required) with live stats available on CatamountSports.com
WCU enters the penultimate weekend of the regular season at 10-13 overall and 6-6 in league matches after a pair of road defeats last weekend against Samford and Mercer. The Catamounts sit in fifth place in the standings, just a game out of a two-way tie for third heading towards the conference's postseason tournament. Gebel and sophomore
Julia Gardon recorded double-doubles in the 3-1 loss at Samford last Friday while Gebel and classmate
Sydney Carlson both posted double-doubles in Saturday's 3-0 setback at league-leading Mercer.
Gebel ranks fourth in the SoCon in kills (3.66 kills/set) to pace the Catamount offense while sophomore Destine Dorsey paces the league in digs at 5.14 per set, 20th in the NCAA. Junior
Johnna Robinson is averaging just over a block per set (1.04) to rank fourth in the SoCon.
Wofford is 13-11 this season and 7-5 in the SoCon thanks to a 3-1 home triumph over The Citadel on Oct. 27. Tied for third in the conference standings with ETSU, the Terriers were off last weekend and play their final four matches of the season on the road where they're 1-9 this season. Wofford claimed a 3-1 win over WCU in Spartanburg on Oct. 9, but the teams have split the season series in each of the last four years.
Furman is 7-15 overall and 2-10 in conference matches after a 3-0 home loss against The Citadel on Wednesday. Bella Tolone led the Paladins with eight kills while Andrea Aceveda contributed a match-best 15 digs. The Catamounts downed Furman in straight sets in Greenville on Oct. 8 and look to sweep the regular season series for the second time in three years with a win on Saturday night.
The Catamounts close out the regular season at UNCG on Wednesday followed by a trip to The Citadel on Nov. 12. The 2021 SoCon Volleyball Championship is scheduled for Nov. 19-21 in Birmingham, Ala.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount volleyball and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts, @catamountvb), and Twitter (@catamounts, @catamountvb).
