ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Sophomore Bailey Hartsough logged her third straight double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs as Western Carolina downed UNC Asheville 3-0 on Tuesday evening at the Justice Center. The Catamounts won by scores of 25-22, 25-17, and 25-19.
 
WCU improves to 3-1 on the season while UNC Asheville drops to 1-3.
 
Hartsough's 12 kills are one shy of tying a season high while her 12 digs matched a season-best. Eden Punch contributed seven kills followed by Ali Morris with six. Destinee Dorsey paced the Catamounts with 14 digs while Sydney Carlson had 24 assists.
 
Avery Loeback and Lexy Cole led UNC Asheville with seven kills each. Giulia Rodriguez had a match-best 15 digs.
 
The Bulldogs took the first two points of the match and went on a 4-0 spurt for a 9-6 lead. WCU battled back to lead 15-13 at the media timeout and took a 22-16 lead after a block by Punch and Weidmann. The Bulldogs tallied the next four points to trim the Catamount lead to two. After the teams traded the next two points the Catamounts closed out the set with kills by Johnna Robinson and Merry Gebel.
 
Trailing 4-3 in the second set, an Ali Morris kill sparked a 6-1 run for a 9-5 lead. A Bulldog error gave WCU a 13-7 advantage. UNC Asheville trimmed the Catamount lead to four points on three occasions before a Poling kill gave the visitors a 20-14 lead before a Punch kill closed out the set and gave WCU a 2-0 lead.
 
The third set featured 11 lead changes. Trailing 18-16, the Catamounts closed the set on a 9-1 run including the final five points with a Hartsough kill ending the match.
 
The Catamounts head to Cookeville, Tenn., this weekend for the Golden Eagle Invitational hosted by Tennessee Tech and will also face Evansville on Friday and Northwestern on Saturday.
 
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