TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Western Carolina split a pair of matches Friday at the Bama Bash, dropping a 3-0 decision to Houston in a morning contest before claiming a 3-1 victory against Tennessee Tech in the afternoon inside Foster Auditorium.
 
Western Carolina 3, Tennessee Tech 1 (25-11, 21-25, 25-20, 25-23)
In Friday's second game, sophomore Julia Gardon tied a career-high with 14 kills with Merry Gebel contributing 12 kills as the Catamounts downed the Golden Eagles in four sets. Haley Multerer had a career-high four service aces becoming the 38^th player in program history to record four aces in a single match. Multerer also swatted a team-best five total blocks. Destinee Dorsey had 21 digs and Sydney Carlson dished out 25 assists while Sarah Janourova tallied 13 in the winning effort.
 
Madolyn Isringhausen led Tennessee Tech with 14 kills and 12 digs. Madeline Furtado finished in double figures with 10 kills. McKenna Young had a team-best 14 digs.
 
The Catamounts jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the first set with the help of four straight service aces by Multerer. After the Golden Eagles pulled within two, 9-7, WCU scored eight of the next 10 points to lead 17-9. The Catamounts closed out the set on a 7-0 spurt as a kill by MaKenzie White clinched a 25-11 opening set victory.
 
Tennessee Tech opened the second set with a 7-2 lead and pushed their advantage to 13-5 following a block by Skylar Boom and Furtado. The Catamounts fought back, cutting the Golden Eagle lead to two, 15-13, following a Livi Weidmann kill. Tech tallied the next two points for a 17-13 advantage before the Catamounts were able to pull within a point on two separate occasions. The Golden Eagles extended their lead to 21-17 thanks to a Furtado block and held on for the remainder of the set to even the match.
 
Tied early in the third set, WCU used a 7-0 run to take an 8-1 lead. Tennessee Tech chipped away at the Catamount advantage as an Isringhausen kill brought the Golden Eagles within three, 15-12. WCU responded with three straight points and led by no fewer than four points for the rest of the frame as a Gebel kill closed out the set.
 
The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 7-2 fourth set lead and led 15-9 following an Isringhausen block. WCU battled back, though, tying the set at 17 thanks to a Gardon kill. With the set tied at 19, the Catamounts tallied three straight points and never looked back, closing out the win with a combined block by Gebel and Multerer.
 
Houston 3, Western Carolina 0 (20-25, 21-25, 19-25)
Western Carolina raised the curtain on the Bama Bash tournament against Houston, succumbing in straight sets with each decided by six-or-fewer points. Julia Gardon led the Catamounts with 10 kills and recorded six digs. Destinee Dorsey paced WCU with eight digs while Sydney Carlson was credited with 14 assists. Carlson also contributed three kills.
 
Isabel Theut paced Houston with 15 kills followed by Rachel Tullos with 11. Kate Georgiades had a match-best 22 digs while Annie Cooke distributed 40 assists.
 
The Cougars (9-1) took an early 5-2 lead in the opening set and extended their lead to 22-13. WCU didn't go quietly as a Houston serving error sparked a 7-2 run capped by a Carlson kill thought brought the Catamounts within four, 24-20. Houston clinched the set, 25-20, thanks to a Jackson kill.
 
A back-and-forth second set featured 11 ties and six lead changes. WCU led 19-17 following a Carlson service ace before the Cougars closed the set on an 8-2 run for a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Consecutive Gardon kills gave WCU an 8-6 lead in the third set. However, the Cougars broke a 12-12 tie with a kill by Rachel Tullos and pulled away down the stretch to secure the victory.
 
WCU concludes the Bama Bash on Saturday, facing tournament host Alabama at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT. The match will be streamed on SEC Network+/ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with free live stats provided via a link on catamountsports.com.
 
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