Women's Volleyball 10/19/2023 10:35:00 AM Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Catamounts Open Second Half of SoCon Play at Furman & ETSU

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina volleyball embarks on the second half of Southern Conference play beginning on Friday, Oct. 20 with a road contest against Furman before traveling to Johnson City the next night to face ETSU. The matchup with the Paladins is set for a 7 p.m. start with the Saturday match set to commence at 6 p.m. Both matches will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available online through CatamountSports.com.

Matchup: Western Carolina (6-13, 3-5 SoCon) at Furman (13-6, 4-4 SoCon)
Date: Friday, Oct. 20
Time: 7 p.m.
Site: Alley Gymnasium (Greenville, S.C.)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Live Video: ESPN+
Twitter: @CatamountVB

Matchup: Western Carolina at ETSU (2-17, 2-6 SoCon)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 21
Time: 6 p.m.
Site: Brooks Gymnasium (Johnson City, Tenn.)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Live Video: ESPN+
Twitter: @CatamountVB

Last Friday, Western Carolina volleyball got in the win column by using the blocks of Livi Weidmann and Logan Carr to down UNCG in straight sets at Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. Weidmann finished with a career-high eight blocks and Carr matched her season-high with seven rejections. The Catamounts fell in straight sets on Thursday night at home to visiting Wofford. The Terriers took the match in three tightly contested frames, 25-22, 25-23, 25-18.

Furman enters the second half of SoCon play with a 13-6 overall record including a 4-4 league mark. The Paladins earned SoCon wins over WCU, ETSU, Samford, and UNCG through the first half of the conference slate. The Paladins are led offensively by Mary Beth Headley who's totaled 164 kills to lead the offense as Ava Augustson has 151 kills and Lauren Haynes has tallied 140. Ella Abraham leads the Paladins with 547 helpers. Kennedy Seekford leads Furman on the defensive side of the ball with 322 digs while Izzy Castelloe and Grainne McGrath lead the block category for Furman with 66 and 62 respectively.

In the all-time series with Furman, the Paladins hold a 48-38 lead over the Catamounts as the Paladins outlasted WCU in five sets in Cullowhee in the first meeting. WCU has taken six of the last nine matches from Furman. In the first meeting, Ali Morris led the offense with a double-double of 17 kills and 22 digs and Bailey Hartsough totaled 12 kills and 17 digs in the five-set setback. Sarah Janourovca and Katie Boney both totaled 25 assists with Janourova also posting 15 digs. In the contest, freshman Logan Carr recorded a career-high 10 kills on 17 swings.

ETSU begins the weekend with a 2-17 record as the Bucs battle Furman on Thursday before welcoming in WCU to Johnson City on Saturday night. The Bucs earned a straight-set win over Wofford and also won in four sets against UNCG during the first half of SoCon play. ETSU is led offensively by Brianna Cantrell who's totaled 185 kills and Amanda Lowe has tallied 153 kills on the season. The Bucs are led in the assist column by Malgorzata Andersohn with 426 helpers as the graduate student has 10 double-doubles on the season. On the defensive end, Abbey Thomas leads ETSU with 56 blocks while Jasmal Cruz has a team-high 192 digs.

WCU holds a 47-44 edge in the all-time series with ETSU as the Catamounts claimed the first meeting in Cullowhee to open SoCon play in a five-set battle. WCU broke a three-game skid to the Bucs with the win in Cullowhee in September. In the victory, Weidmann tallied a career-high 18 kills as Hartsough had 16 kills and Morris finished with 13 kills and 10 digs. Janourova added a double-double with 30 assists and 17 digs. Eda Yalçinkaya posted her best outing as a Catamount in the first meeting with a season-high 17 digs.

Following Saturday's matchup at ETSU, the Catamounts continue with their three-game road swing as WCU travels to Macon, Ga. to battle Mercer on Thursday, Oct. 26 with the first serve set for 6 p.m. The Catamounts return home two days later for a 7 p.m. start against The Citadel from Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. The match with the Bulldogs will be preceded by Catamount football squaring off against Mercer on Homecoming weekend with kickoff set for 2:30 p.m. Both matches are to be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available on 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)

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Players Mentioned

#8 Bailey Hartsough: OH; 5' 10"; Junior

#3 Ali Morris: OH; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#16 Livi Weidmann: RS; 5' 11"; Senior

#13 Logan Carr: MB; 6' 3"; Freshman

#18 Katie Boney: S; 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#8 Bailey Hartsough
: 5' 10"; Junior
: OH

#3 Ali Morris
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: OH

#16 Livi Weidmann
: 5' 11"; Senior
: RS

#13 Logan Carr
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: MB

#18 Katie Boney
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: S

Western Carolina University

Schedule

Catamounts Open Second Half of SoCon Play at Furman & ETSU

Players Mentioned

#8 Bailey Hartsough

#3 Ali Morris

#16 Livi Weidmann

#13 Logan Carr

#18 Katie Boney

Players Mentioned

#8 Bailey Hartsough

#3 Ali Morris

#16 Livi Weidmann

#13 Logan Carr

#18 Katie Boney