CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Western Carolina volleyball team looks to continue its winning ways this weekend as the Catamounts head to Wofford on Saturday at 7 p.m., followed by a rescheduled 5 p.m. Sunday contest at The Citadel. The WCU match in Charleston, S.C., against The Citadel was originally scheduled for Friday, but was postponed due to Hurricane Ian.
 
Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with free live stats available on CatamountSports.com.
 
The Catamounts (9-5, 2-0 SoCon) took two of the three SoCon Player of the Week awards earlier this week as fifth-year senior Merry Gebel was tabbed as the Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season and senior Johnna Robinson was tabbed as the Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career. Gebel led the Catamounts with an average of 4.71 kills per set in the 2-0 start to league play. She had 20 kills in WCU's 3-1 win over Samford and 13 in the Catamount sweep of Mercer. Robinson tallied a season-best eight total blocks against Mercer and recorded four against Samford.
 
WCU has opened conference play at 2-0 for a second-consecutive year and eyes its best start since the 2019 season that saw the squad rattle-off six-straight SoCon wins to open the campaign. The Catamounts lead the SoCon in attack percentage (.225) while ranking third in kills (12.86 k/set), fifth in team blocks (1.90 blk/set), and sixth in digs (13.73 d/set).
 
The Citadel enters Friday's match with an 8-6 overall record and a 1-0 mark in league matches after defeating Furman 3-1 on the road last Wednesday. Ali Ruffin leads the conference and ranks 39^th nationally in kills per set with 4.04. The teams split the regular season series last year with both teams defending their home court.
 
Wofford is 9-6 and 1-2 after a 3-2 home victory against Furman on Wednesday. The Terriers lead the SoCon in blocks with 2.26 per set and Sarah Barham is tops in the league with 1.14 blocks per set. Millie Loehr leads the conference in hitting percentage at .395. The Terriers swept the regular season meetings in 2021.
 
WCU returns to Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center next weekend, hosting Chattanooga on Friday and ETSU on Saturday. The first serve for both matches is scheduled for 6 p.m., and admission is free.
 
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).