COOKEVILLE, TENN. – The Western Carolina volleyball team extended its winning streak to five matches with a pair of wins Friday at the Golden Eagle Invitational. WCU (5-1) swept Evansville in the first-ever meeting between the schools Friday afternoon before downing tournament host Tennessee Tech 3-1 on Friday night at the Eblen Center.
Western Carolina 3, Evansville 0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-1(8)
Bailey Hartsough posted her fourth straight match with double figure kills as she led the Catamounts with 13.
Merry Gebel also finished in double figures with 10 kills.
Destinee Dorsey had a match-best 13 digs,
Sydney Carlson was credited with 15 assists, and
Eden Punch swatted five blocks as WCU's statistical leaders.
Evansville was led by Melanie Feliciano with 14 kills, followed by Guilia Cardona with 10. Kora Ruff was credited with a match-best 33 assists.
The Catamounts took a 4-2 advantage in the opening set on a
Sarah Janourova service ace and grabbed a 9-3 lead on an ace by Gebel. The Purple Aces trimmed the WCU lead to two, 10-8, before the Catamounts took four of the next five points. Leading 20-16, WCU closed the match on a 5-0 run capped by a
Livi Weidmann kill to end the set.
After the teams split the first 12 points of the second set, Evansville grabbed five of the next six to lead 11-7. The Purple Aces took a set-best six-point lead, 18-12, following a Feliciano kill. WCU answered with a 6-0 run capped by a Hartsough kill to even the score. Cardona's kill put Evansville ahead 23-22, before kills by
Johnna Robinson and
Merry Gebel, an Evansville error, and an ace by Dorsey completed the Catamount charge for a set two win.
Tied at four in the third set, WCU went on a 6-0 spurt for a 10-4 lead. Evansville cut the WCU advantage to two, 12-10, before WCU scored four of the next five points and pulled away down the stretch. The match ended on an Evansville error.
Western Carolina 3, Tennessee Tech 1 (25-16, 25-18, 25-27, 26-24)
Merry Gebel led the Catamounts with a match-best 16 kills and also was credited with 10 digs for her 58
th career double-double as WCU downed the tournament host.
Brooklyn Poling contributed a career-high 12 kills while
Johnna Robinson finished in double figures with 10 kills and Robinson also swatted five blocks. Defensively,
Eden Punch had a career-best 11 blocks while
Destinee Dorsey was credited with a match-high 23 digs.
Sydney Carlson and
Sarah Janourova both contributed 25 assists.
Madolyn Isringhausen paced Tennessee Tech with 12 kills and was joined in double figures by Morgan Gish with 10.
WCU came out with a purpose in the opening set, taking the first five points and enjoying a 10-2 lead following a Tennessee Tech serving error. A Gebel kill gave the Catamounts a 16-8 lead with a
Brooklyn Poling kill putting WCU ahead 23-12. The Golden Eagles tallied the next four points before kills by Robinson and Hartsough ended the set.
Holding a 9-8 lead in set number two, WCU earned six of the next seven points to lead 15-9 following a Gebel kill. Tennessee Tech trimmed the Catamount advantage to three points on two occasions, the latest being 20-17 before WCU closed out the set with five of the final six points for the 2-0 lead.
The Catamount led 15-11 at the third set media timeout, but Tennessee Tech battled back late in the stage to secure a 27-25 win and extend the match to a fourth set.
A tightly-contested fourth set saw the largest lead enjoyed by either team at just four points. A Golden Eagle error gave the Catamounts match point 24-21, but the hosts took the next three points to tie the frame. A Robinson kill followed by a Punch block clinched the win for the Catamounts.
WCU has a short turnaround, closing out the tournament on Saturday against Northwestern (5-0) at 11:30 a.m. ET with both teams currently enjoying five-match win streaks. The match can be seen on ESPN+ (
paid subscription required) with live stats available online at CatamountSports.com.
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).
