WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Western Carolina volleyball swept a pair of matches on Saturday, defeating ACC foe Wake Forest 3-2 and swept NC Central 3-0. The win over Wake Forest is the first victory for the Catamounts over both a Power Five and ACC member school since a 3-1 home victory against Boston College in 2013. It also marks the 10^th win against the Demon Deacons in program history.
 
WCU is 2-1 on the season after the opening weekend of the season.
 
Western Carolina 3, Wake Forest 2 (20-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 15-9)
Fifth-year senior Merry Gebel led three Catamounts in double figures offensively with 17 kills and added 10 digs, while Bailey Hartsough posted a double-double with 13 kills and 12 digs and Livi Weidmann added 15 kills. Defensively, Eden Punch swatted a career-high eight blocks. Sydney Carlson and Sarah Janourova both surpassed the 20-assist milestone with 29 and 23, respectively.
 
Paige Crawford paced Wake Forest with a match-high 18 kills. Andrea Fuentes dished out 50 assists while Emma Farrell was credited with 27 digs.
 
The Catamounts took three of the first four points in the match before a Crawford kill gave the hosts a 10-6 advantage. The Demon Deacons led 15-13 at the media timeout before consecutive kills by Weidmann and Ali Morris knotted the score at 18. Wake Forest responded with four of the next five points and clinched the stanza on a Catamount error for the 1-0 lead.
 
Trailing 5-3 in the second set, the Catamounts went on a 4-0 spurt capped by a Morris kill for a 7-5 lead. The Catamounts led 15-8 following a Weidmann kill and extended their lead to 18-11 with a kill by Johnna Robinson. The Deacons didn't go quietly, cutting the WCU lead to 20-17 on a block by Peyton Suess. Wake Forest battled through a two set points and pulled to within a pair, 24-22, before a combo block by Weidmann and Eden Punch ended the set and evened the match.
 
WCU got off to a fast start in the third set, scoring the first five points and six of the first seven overall for a 6-1 advantage. Wake Forest fought back and grabbed a 15-13 advantage with a Suess block. Neither team was able to gain separation for the rest of the set with the largest lead being two points along with seven ties. The Demon Deacons finished the frame on a 3-0 run to grab a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Punch and Hartsough teamed up for a block to put WCU ahead 15-7 in the fourth set. Wake Forest whittled the Catamount lead to one, 20-19, before the Catamounts took three of the next four points for a 23-20 lead. After Wake Forest trimmed the WCU lead to one, Hartsough and Gebel closed out the set with back-to-back kills to force the fifth set.
 
A back-and-forth start to the decisive fifth set saw Wake Forest claim a 6-2 lead before WCU scored three straight points. Trailing 7-5, a Brooklyn Poling kill sparked a 4-0 run to give the Catamounts a lead they wouldn't relinquish. After an error brought the hosts to within a point, Poling again had the answer with a kill as the Catamounts led by no fewer than two points the rest of the way with a Demon Deacon error clinching the match.
 
The Catamounts hit .264 for the match and posted a .421 mark in the fourth set and .364 in the fifth set.
 
Western Carolina 3, NC Central 0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-18)
Merry Gebel led the Catamounts with 12 kills as WCU swept the day with the straight set win. Bailey Hartsough picked up her second double-double of the day with 10 kills and 11 digs. Making her first collegiate start, Ollie Henderson logged a team-best 12 digs. 
 
Tori Wilson and Kamren Harper each record eight kills to lead the Eagles. Loren Johnson was credited with 11 digs.
 
Tied at 10 in the opening set, WCU took six of the next seven points to seize control and led by no fewer than four points the rest of the way. Gebel tallied eight of her 12 kills in the opening stanza.
 
WCU dashed out to a 9-3 lead in the second set and maintained a five-point or greater lead the rest of the set to go up 2-0 for the match.
 
The third set featured seven ties mainly in the early going. With the score knotted at 9, a pair of Eagle errors and an Eden Punch kill put the Catamounts ahead 12-9. The WCU advantage grew to five points in the middle of the frame before the Eagles cut the lead to 17-16 on a Wilson kill. WCU responded with seven straight points and clinched the match on a Punch kill.
 
The Catamounts make the short trip to mountain rival UNC Asheville on Tuesday, facing the Bulldogs inside the Justice Center at 6 p.m. The match will be streamed 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).