CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Behind double-doubles from sophomore Ali Morris and juniors Sarah Janourova and Bailey Hartsough, Western Carolina volleyball downed The Citadel in five sets on Saturday night to snap the Bulldogs 23-match win streak at Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. The Catamounts won by the scores of 25-16, 20-25, 25-20, 15-25, 15-10.
Hartsough led the offensive attack with her 10th double-double of the season, totaling 19 kills and a career-best tying 22 digs on the defensive end. Morris finished her 11th double-double with 18 digs and 10 kills. Janourova picked up her team-high 12th double-double as she had a career-high 48 assists and 14 digs to go along with a career-best five kills. Janourova led all qualified players for the week in the SoCon with 91 assists.
Livi Weidmann totaled 12 kills, three digs, and three blocks in the victory. Eda Yalcinkaya finished with 15 digs on the defensive end, while senior Eden Punch totaled five blocks and six digs in the contest.
Ali Ruffin paced the Bulldogs with 24 kills and 16 digs, as Maddy Cardenas finished with 10 kills and a pair of blocks. Belle Hogan led all players on Saturday night with 50 assists and nine digs on the defensive end as Hogan also added four kills to her stat line. Jaelynn Elgert finished with a match-high 28 digs for The Citadel.
Saturday's win ended the longest win streak in NCAA DI volleyball as the Bulldogs were one of the last two unbeaten teams, as only The Citadel and Nebraska (21-0) had unblemished records before the Catamounts victory.
It marks the fourth win of the 2023 season in five sets for Western Carolina and its second in as many matches. WCU also improved to 20-3 all-time in Cullowhee against the Bulldogs, including the last 11 contests at Western Carolina.
The Citadel (23-1, 11-1 SoCon) got an early 4-3 lead before a 6-1 burst from the Catamounts allowed WCU to pull in front 9-5 and force the guests to use an early timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Western Carolina (8-15, 5-7 SoCon) pushed across seven of the following 10 points to increase the advantage to 16-8. The Bulldogs got the deficit to eight on multiple occasions late before WCU pulled away for a 25-16 set one victory.
The opening of the second set featured nine ties, with neither team able to gain more than a two-point edge as WCU led 15-14 at the media break. The Citadel began to create separation out of the media break with a 9-3 run to gain a 23-18 lead, which forced a pair of Catamounts timeouts. WCU scored two quick points before the guests closed the set with a 25-20 win to even the match at one set apiece.
The Bulldogs began the set with three unanswered points before the Catamounts flipped the script and went on a 12-3 run to gain the six-point lead and force The Citadel to spend a timeout. The guests pushed across four of the following five points, which led to a WCU timeout. The two teams went back and forth on the scoreboard, with neither team able to create much separation through the middle portion of the set before a quick 3-1 spurt in the later stages of the set allowed WCU to take a 21-18 lead and force a Bulldogs timeout. WCU scored four of the final six points to claim the set 25-20 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
In a must-win situation, The Citadel got out to an early 9-5 lead in the fourth set, which led to a WCU timeout. WCU answered with a 5-3 spurt to cut the deficit to two, 12-10, before the Bulldogs answered with a 9-3 run to jump out to a 21-13 advantage and force a Western Carolina timeout. The Bulldogs claimed four of the final six points in the fifth set to force a decisive fifth set on Saturday night.
The fifth set started with seven ties as the two teams continued to trade points, with WCU grabbing the 8-7 lead at the side switch. The Catamounts came out of the media timeout and closed the match on a 7-3 run to finish off the Bulldogs and claim their second five-set win in as many matches.
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 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 before the 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).
