CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina volleyball makes its NCAA era postseason debut on Saturday at 1 p.m. as the Catamounts face Liberty in the first round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) on the Flames' home floor in Lynchburg, Va.
 
Liberty earned the ASUN Conference regular-season title, finishing with a 23-8 seasonal record. But the Lady Flames lost to Florida Gulf Coast in the ASUN Championship. Saturday's match will be the first meeting between the two schools since 1992 with Liberty holding a 2-1 edge in the all-time series.
 
The winner of Saturday's first round match faces the winner of a first-round contest between Toledo (18-12, 11-7 MAC) and Clemson (13-17) on Sunday at 1 p.m. All matches will be streamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available on catamountsports.com.
 
WCU finished the 2022 regular season with a 18-12 overall record and 10-6 Southern Conference mark to finish in third place in the league before a setback in the conference semifinals to eventual tournament champion Samford.
 
This season, the Catamounts compiled an impressive resume including wins over ACC members Wake Forest and NC State in nonconference matches. Fifth-year senior Merry Gebel was named the SoCon Player of the Year after she led the Catamounts during the regular season with 340 kills and 3.37 kills per set and also tallied 238 digs for a 2.36 per set mark with 12 double-doubles. Gebel also claimed a spot on the SoCon All-Tournament Team after she led the team with 25 kills along with 17 digs and five blocks.
 
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).