COOKEVILLE, TENN. – Merry Gebel recorded a team-high 10 kills as Western Carolina dropped the final match of the Golden Eagle Invitational 3-0 to Northwestern on Saturday morning inside the Eblen Center on the campus of Tennessee Tech.
 
Northwestern improves to 6-0 to start the season while Western Carolina drops to 5-2.
 
Gebel's 10 kills paced the Catamounts, the third time during the Golden Eagle Invitational that she finished with double figures. Bailey Hartsough had a team-best seven digs, while Sydney Carlson dished out 19 assists.
 
Kathryn Randorf and Hanna Lesiak both tallied 12 kills to lead Northwestern. Alexa Rousseau dished out a match-best 41 assists. Megan Miller was credited with 14 digs with Ellee Stinson adding 13.
 
The Catamounts jumped out to a 3-1 lead on a Sarah Janourova service ace in the first set. However,  the Wildcats used a pair of 3-0 spurts to tie and then take a 9-7 lead. WCU cut its deficit to one point on two occasions, but Northwestern slowly built its lead to 24-17. The Catamounts didn't go quietly, tallying five straight points before a Lesiak kill gave Northwestern an opening set win.
 
A Gebel kill gave WCU an 8-5 lead early in the second set. A Destinee Dorsey service ace put WCU ahead 15-9 but Northwestern clawed back for a 22-19 lead on a block by Becker and Lesiak. A Livi Weidmann kill and a block by Brooklyn Poling and Johnna Robinson tied the set at 24, but an error and an Alexa Rousseau kill gave the Wildcats a 26-24 second set win.
 
Kills by Weidmann and Gebel gave WCU a 2-1 lead in the third set before a 3-0 run gave Northwestern a lead they wouldn't relinquish for the rest of the set. 
 
The Catamounts are back in action next Thursday and Friday at the NC State Tournament, facing Indiana at 11 a.m. and TCU at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday before a matchup with the host Wolfpack on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m.
 
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