CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina volleyball closes out a three-match road swing with a visit to Mercer on Thursday night for a 6 p.m. first serve against the Bears. The match is set to take place at Hawkins Arena in Macon, Ga., and will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available online through CatamountSports.com.
Matchup: Western Carolina (6-15, 3-7 SoCon) at Mercer (12-9, 8-2 SoCon)
Date: Thursday, Oct. 26
Time: 6 p.m.
Site: Hawkins Arena (Macon, Ga.)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Live Video: ESPN+
Twitter: @CatamountVB
Junior Bailey Hartsough posted a career-high 24 kills as Western Carolina volleyball dropped a 3-1 decision to ETSU on Saturday night at Brooks Gymnasium in its most recent action. Last Friday, junior Sarah Janourova tallied her team-best 10th double-double of the season with 28 assists and 20 digs as WCU volleyball fell in four, 3-1 against Furman at Alley Gymnasium.
Entering the week, the Catamounts continue to rank third in the SoCon in blocks, averaging 1.91 per set as a team while limiting opponents to a .208 collective attack percentage – fifth in the SoCon. Eden Punch is sixth in the SoCon with an average of 0.91 blocks per set. Offensively, Ali Morris and Hartsough rank ninth and 10th, respectively, in the league in kills with right at three per set – 2.99 and 2.96, exactly. Morris and Hartsough are two of just three players in the SoCon to rank in the Top 10 in both kills and digs this season.
Mercer enters Thursday's match with a 12-9 mark including 8-2 in SoCon matches thus far in 2023. The Bears have won six straight matches including five in three sets. Kylee Quigley leads Mercer on the offensive end with 246 kills as Skyler Bumpers added 158 thus far for the Bears. Kiera McCarles leads the way for Mercer with 449 assists as Jessica Dunn has tallied 204. Quigley adds a team-best 35 service aces. On the defensive end, Abbey Havrilla has 310 digs to lead the way while Bumpers has a team-high 67 blocks.
WCU holds a 22-14 edge in the all-time series with Mercer taking the first matchup in Cullowhee by a count of 3-1 in late September. Western Carolina took each of the three meetings from the Bears in 2022, winning each in straight sets. Ali Morris led WCU in the September meeting with 14 kills and 13 digs and Bailey Hartsough added 10 kills and 15 digs. Janourova added 21 assists as Katie Boney tallied 19 assists in the defeat.
Following Thursday's matchup in Macon, the Catamounts return home for a 7 p.m. start on Saturday against league-leading 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. The match is slated to be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available on CatamountSports.com.
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