CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina volleyball begins its quest for a Southern Conference Tournament crown on Friday night as the third-seeded Catamounts face No. 6 seed Mercer in the final of four quarterfinal matches at 7:30 p.m. in Greenville, S.C.
 
Furman's Timmons Arena is the host site with the winner of the WCU/Mercer match facing the winner of the match between No. 2 seed Samford and seventh-seeded The Citadel on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The championship match is scheduled for Sunday at 4 p.m. All matches in the tournament will be streamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required).
 
WCU finished the season with a 17-11 overall record and a 10-6 SoCon mark. Fifth-year senior outside hitter Merry Gebel became just the second player in school history to earn Southern Conference Player of the Year honors after she led Western Carolina with 340 kills and 3.37 kills per set, the fifth-best seasonal average in the SoCon. Additionally, Gebel tallied 238 digs defensively for a 2.36 per set – third on the WCU team – and tied her career-high of 18 digs in the regular-season finale against Furman last Saturday. Gebel recorded 12 double-doubles this season and has 67 for her career. She is also tied for second on the squad with 30 service aces, and 10th in SoCon matches with 20 aces.
 
Also for the Catamounts, fifth-year senior Sydney Carlson finished ninth in the SoCon in assists (5.53 average), with libero Destinee Dorsey ranking fourth defensively with 4.24 digs per set. Eden Punch finished the regular season fourth with a 1.02 blocks per set average with Bailey Hartsough finishing tied for seventh with an average of 0.33 service aces per set.
 
Mercer went 10-18 overall and 6-10 in league matches this season. Outside hitter Anne Karle was named first-team All-SoCon after she led the Bears and ranked third in the league with 3.67 kills per set. Right-side hitter Lillian Beardsley was named to the SoCon All-Freshman team following a season that saw her record 228 kills and 61 total blocks. 
 
WCU swept the regular season meetings, winning both matches in three sets. The Catamounts and Bears are familiar foes in the league tournament, squaring off in the quarterfinals for the third time in the past four seasons with Mercer winning five-set matches in 2019 and 2020-21. The two squads rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in hitting percentage with WCU finishing the regular season third with an average of 12.95 kills per set. At the net, the Catamounts finished third in blocking (2.14 blocks per set) while Mercer was eighth (1.66 blk/set), and the Catamounts were sixth defensively at 15.32 digs per set over Mercer in ninth with a 12.28 average.
 
WCU has won three tournament championships all-time since 1983, winning its second of consecutive tournament titles back in 1986. The Catamounts also have five runner-up finishes at the conference-champion crowning event, most recently in 1998.
 
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