CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Entering the weekend second in the Southern Conference standings, the Western Carolina volleyball team makes its final road trip of the 2022 regular-season this weekend as the Catamounts head to league-leading ETSU on Friday for a 7 p.m. match followed by a 4 p.m. contest Saturday at fourth-place Chattanooga.

Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with free live stats available on CatamountSports.com.

WCU is 16-8 overall and 9-3 in Southern Conference play after a 3-1 home win against Wofford on Friday and a 3-0 victory against The Citadel on Saturday. Fifth-year senior Merry Gebel recorded a pair of double-doubles while freshman Ali Morris had a career-high 16 kills in Friday's match. Gebel currently ranks eighth in the SoCon in attack percentage (.258) while ranking fifth in kills (3.44 per set).

On Monday, junior libero Destinee Dorsey was named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week for the first time this season and the sixth time in her career. Dorsey led the Catamounts with 36 digs in two victories last week. She opened the weekend with 16 digs, three assists, and two aces in Friday's 3-1 triumph over Wofford and added 20 digs, two aces, and an assist in Saturday's sweep of The Citadel. She joins Gebel, senior Johnna Robinson, and classmate Eden Punch, who ranks third in the SoCon in blocks (0.33 per set), as weekly award winners this season.

ETSU is 17-7 overall and currently leads the SoCon with an 11-1 record having won five straight matches. The Bucs rank second in the league with 2.22 blocks per set and are third in attack percentage at .221 while averaging the fourth-most kills per set (12.67). Lundyn Coffman ranks second in blocks per set with 1.03. ETSU won the first meeting of the season 3-0 on Oct. 8 in Cullowhee, a second-straight win for the Bucs after WCU had won three consecutive matches in the head-to-head series.

Chattanooga is 13-14 on the season and 7-5 in league matches after splitting a pair of matches last weekend against Samford and Mercer. Natalie Tyson leads the Mocs and ranks fourth in the SoCon with 3.44 kills per set. WCU claimed a 3-0 win over Chattanooga in Cullowhee on Oct. 7, a seventh-straight series win for the Catamounts and the 10th victory in the last 12 meetings with the Mocs.

The Catamounts close out the regular season next week with a pair of home matches, hosting UNCG on Wednesday and Furman on Saturday. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. and broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required).

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).