Women's Volleyball 10/5/2023 10:00:00 AM Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Volleyball Opens October with Back-to-Back Road Matches

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina volleyball turns the calendar to October as the Catamounts hit the road for a pair of league matchups beginning on Friday with a visit to Birmingham to battle Samford before traveling to Chattanooga the next night to battle the Mocs. The matchup with the Bulldogs is set for 8 p.m. EST first serve with Saturday scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start.

The match in Birmingham will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available online through CatamountSports.com. for both matchups.

Matchup: Western Carolina (4-11, 1-3 SoCon) at Samford (6-10, 1-3 SoCon)
Date: Friday, Oct. 6
Time: 8 p.m.
Site: Pete Hanna Center (Birmingham, Ala.)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Live Video: ESPN+
Twitter: @CatamountVB

Matchup: Western Carolina at Chattanooga (14-5, 2-2 SoCon)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 7
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Site: Maclellan Gym (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Twitter: @CatamountVB

Sophomore Ali Morris totaled a team-high 14 kills along with 13 digs for her sixth double-double of the season as Western Carolina volleyball suffered a 3-1 defeat against Mercer at Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center on Saturday night. Junior Sarah Janouorova added 21 assists with freshman Katie Boney tallied 19 helpers in the match. Bailey Hartsough finished the match with a team-best 15 digs on Saturday night.

Samford comes into Friday's match with a 6-10 record after suffering a five-set setback against Furman in its last on-court action. Gracie Lynn Butler leads the Bulldogs attack with 276 kills along with a team-high 19 service aces. Kaleigh Meritt has added 158 kills to the offense for Samford. The Bulldogs are led in assists by Lexi Thatcher who's tallied 572 helpers on the season. Katie Morgan has totaled a team-best 223 digs while Kate Wonus has the lead for the Bulldogs with 45 blocks. Samford was selected second in the preseason poll under the directon of Keylon Chan who's in his eighth season at the helm for the Bulldogs led by Lynn Butler and Morgan who both earned preseason all-conference honors.

Samford holds a 30-9 advantage in the all-time series with WCU including the Bulldogs taking two of the matchups from the Catamounts a season ago. Western Carolina is looking for it's first victory in Birmingham since Oct. 2013 when the Catamounts took down the Bulldogs in five sets. Sarah Janourova helped lead the way for the Catamounts in 2022 with 50 assists in the three matches while Eden Punch tallied 15 blocks including a match-high eight in the SoCon tournament last November. Bailey Hartsough also added 20 kills and a team-best 10 service aces to her stat line in the matchups.

Chattanooga enters the weekend with a 14-5 record as the Mocs battle Furman on Friday night before hosting the Catamounts on Saturday night. The Mocs sit at 2-2 in SoCon with wins over ETSU and UNCG. Chattanooga is led offensively by Morgan Romano who's tallied 270 kills as Gylian Finch sits with 244 kills. The Mocs are led in assists by Elaine Redman who's totaled 691 helpers thus far in 2023. Paige Gallentine leads the Mocs on the defensive end with 348 digs as one of five players on the team with at least 150 digs. Chard'e Vanzandt leads the blocks for Chattanooga with 55 rejections. The Mocs were tabbed fifth in the preseason poll under the direction of Julie Torbett who's in her second season leading Chattanooga.

The Catamounts hold a 49-42 edge in the all-time series with Chattanooga as the two teams defended their home courts in 2022 splitting the two matchups. WCU has taken eight of the past 10 meetings from the Mocs including seven of the last eight matches. Janourova posted 21 and 17 assists in the two matches last season while Hartsough had 11 kills, four aces and nine digs in the home match last year.

Following Saturday's matchup at Chattanooga, the Catamounts return home for the final two matches of the first half of league play beginning on Thursday, Oct. 12 when WCU hosts Wofford before battling UNCG the next night with both matches taking place at Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. Both matches are set for 6 p.m. first serve as both games will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) and live stats will be provided by CatamountSports.Com for both matches.

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

#12 Sarah Janourova: S; 5' 9"; Junior

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

#17 Eden Punch: MB; 5' 10"; Senior

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

Players Mentioned

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

#12 Sarah Janourova
: 5' 9"; Junior
: S

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

#17 Eden Punch
: 5' 10"; Senior
: MB

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

Western Carolina University

Schedule

Volleyball Opens October with Back-to-Back Road Matches

Players Mentioned

#8 Bailey Hartsough

#12 Sarah Janourova

#3 Ali Morris

#17 Eden Punch

#18 Katie Boney

Players Mentioned

#8 Bailey Hartsough

#12 Sarah Janourova

#3 Ali Morris

#17 Eden Punch

#18 Katie Boney