CHARLESTON, S.C. – Western Carolina battled back from a 2-0 deficit on Monday evening to earn a hard-fought 3-2 win at The Citadel in the Southern Conference volleyball opener for both teams at the McAlister Field House. The Catamounts won by scores of 23-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-19, and 15-9.
 
WCU improves to 1-2 and 1-0 while The Citadel drops to 2-4 and 0-1.
 
Junior Merry Gebel had a career-high 25 kills and matched a career-best with 19 digs to pace the Catamount rally. Gebel earned her second double-double of the season and the 29th of her career. Freshman Destinee Dorsey poured in 19 digs defensively while senior Hannah Price handed out 25 assists and sophomore Sydney Carlson had 18 assists.
 
Gina Delancey, Sharlissa de Jesus, and Mellanie King led the Bulldog offense with 13 kills each. Amie Greene recorded 50 assists while Kenzie Kellerman tallied 25 digs.
 
An error by the Bulldogs gave WCU a 10-6 lead in the first set before the hosts recorded three straight points to tie the set at 14. With the opening set tied at 22, consecutive kills gave the Bulldogs a 24-22 edge and after an error, a Makaya Middleton kill concluded the set.
 
With the second set tied at 12, The Citadel used a 6-1 run for an 18-13 lead. The Catamounts got no closer than four points for the remainder of the set in falling behind two sets to none.
 
WCU started its rally with the third set, using a 5-0 run to take an early 8-3 lead. The Bulldogs pulled within one, 13-12 after three straight King kills, but the Catamounts went on a 5-1 spurt to lead 18-13 following a Bulldog error. The Citadel cut the deficit to two, 23-21, but an error followed by a Multerer block secured the set for WCU.
 
Trailing 10-9 in the fourth set, WCU went on a 6-0 run to take a 15-10 advantage. The Citadel managed to pull within two, 19-17, before WCU answered with four straight points. Back-to-back Gebel kills closed out the set and tied the match at two sets apiece and force the fifth.
 
A Julia Gardon kill broke a 6-6 tie in the fifth set as the Catamounts didn't trail for the remainder of the frame. WCU led by as many as seven points in the tiebreaking set and earned its first win of the season as a Gardon kill ended the match.
 
The Catamounts and Bulldogs face off on Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m., in the second of the two seasonal meetings in the new conference scheduling for the 2021 season. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required).
 
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