GREENSBORO, N.C. – Western Carolina pushed its winning streak to five matches as the Catamounts swept UNCG 3-0 at Fleming Gymnasium on Sunday evening. The Catamounts won by scores of 25-18, 25-18, and 25-20.
 
WCU's fifth-consecutive, straight-sets victory combined with a win by Mercer over Furman locks the Catamounts into the No. 3 seed at the Southern Conference Championships next week. The Catamounts are 10-7 overall and 10-5 in league matches while UNCG drops to 2-14 overall and 2-13.
 
Junior Merry Gebel tallied her 10^th double-double of the season with a match-high 18 kills and 12 digs. Senior Hannah Price led the Catamounts with 35 assists while freshman Destinee Dorsey logged 29 digs. Senior Caroline Perret finished with 11 digs and sophomore Johnna Robinson was credited with a match-best five total blocks.
 
UNCG was led by Maria Esch with 13 kills. Esch just missed a double-double with nine digs. Jenna Wiggs paced the Spartans with 20 digs followed by Stephanie Meysembourg with 13.
 
A service ace by Price gave the Catamounts a 13-9 lead in the first set before the Spartans pulled within one, 14-13, thanks to a block by Knier. WCU answered with four of the next five points for an 18-14 lead, but the Spartans battled back within two, 19-17, with a kill by Wood. The Catamounts closed the set on a 6-1 run as a Gebel kill ended the opening stanza. WCU had four of its seven service aces in the match in the opening set including two by Gebel.
 
A tightly contested second set featured three ties and seven lead changes. Tied at 13, WCU went on a 7-0 run to take control and closed out the frame with Robinson kill for a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Trailing 16-14 in the third set, the Catamounts used a 6-0 spurt capped by a Gebel kill for a 20-16 lead. The Spartans cut the WCU advantage to two points on two occasions before the Catamounts pulled away down the stretch with a kill by Gebel ending the match. 
 
WCU and UNCG conclude the regular season on Monday at 5 p.m. inside Fleming Gymnasium. The match is slated to be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available online through a link on CatamountSports.com.
 
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