CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Coming off of a thrilling five-set victory on Thursday at Southern Conference second-place Mercer, Western Carolina volleyball returns home for a Homecoming match against league-leading The Citadel on Saturday night in the backend of a football-volleyball doubleheader.
First serve is set for 7 p.m. from Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center and admission is free. The match will additionally be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available online through CatamountSports.com.
Matchup: The Citadel (22-0, 10-0 SoCon) vs Western Carolina (7-15, 4-7 SoCon)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 28
Time: 7 p.m.
Site: Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center (Cullowhee, N.C.)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Live Video: ESPN+
Twitter: @CatamountVB
Sophomore Ali Morris matched her career-high with 20 kills and junior Sarah Janourova dished out a career-best tying 43 assists as Western Carolina volleyball outlasted Mercer 3-2 on Thursday night at Hawkins Arena to snap the Bears' six-match win streak. WCU won the match by the scores of 23-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-18, 15-12.
Morris added 19 digs on the defensive end to accompany her 20 kills for her 10th double-double of the season. She also handed out a career-high seven assists and picked up a pair of aces in the win. Morris posted a .383 hitting percentage on Thursday with the 20 kills coming on 47 swings, with only a pair of attack errors.
The Citadel sits with an umblemished record winning their first 22 matches including each of their 10 league matches entering the weekend that sees the Bulldogs first battle Mercer on Friday before traveling to Cullowhee. The Bulldogs have taken an impressive 11 of their 22 matches in straight sets.
Ali Ruffin leads The Citadel with 396 kills on the season as the Bulldog junior has eclipsed 15 kills in 17 matches already this season including 10, 20+ kill performances. Ruffin is a four-time SoCon player of the week thus far in 2023 as her 396 kills leads all SoCon players. Belle Hogan leads The Citadel and the league with 916 assists averaging almost 11 per set. Hogan has claimed SoCon Setter of the Week plaudits three times. The Citadel leads the conference in service aces with 156 led by Ruffin with 38 thus far. On the defensive end, Gina DeLancey has 71 blocks and Jaelynn Elgert has 406 digs as each have claimed a defensive player of the week in 2023.
Western Carolina holds a 36-11 advantage in the all-time series with the Bulldogs, though The Citadel claimed the first seasonal meeting in late September in three sets. WCU has won seven of the past 11 meetings dating back to October 2018. Eden Punch led WCU in the meeting in Charleston with nine kills and three blocks as Janourova (15 assists and, 12 digs) and Boney (12 assists and 11 digs) both finished with a double-double.
Following Saturday's matchup in Cullowhee, the Catamounts prepare for their final home matches of the 2023 regular season as WCU hosts Chattanooga (Nov. 3) & Samford (Nov. 4). Both matches are set for 6 p.m. starts and will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available on CatamountSports.com. Western Carolina will honor its senior class of Julia Gardon, Ali Schreiber, Livi Weidmann and Eden Punch prior to first serve of Saturday's matchup with Samford.
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)
