CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina volleyball used a season-high 13 aces to complete a three-set sweep of visiting Chattanooga on Friday night on Southern Conference action at Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. The Catamounts won by the scores of 25-16, 25-23, 25-18 to complete the two-game seasonal sweep of UTC.
Bailey Hartsough led the offensive attack with 14 kills as she hit .324, adding seven digs on the defensive end. She also had a team-high four aces, tying a career-high for the La Grange, Ind., native. Livi Weidmann added 10 kills in the winning effort for WCU. Logan Carr was effective on the offensive end, with seven kills on nine swings without an error.
Sarah Janoruova finished off her third straight double-double and the 13th of the season with 34 assists and 12 digs, adding three aces. Eda Yalcinkaya totaled a team-high 15 digs along with three aces. Ali Morris finished with nine digs, two blocks, four kills, and three aces filling the stat sheet.
Morgan Romano led Chattanooga with 15 kills and added eight digs in the contest. Chard'e Vanzandt finished with 13 kills as Gylian Finch tallied 10 kills for the Mocs. Elaine Redman had a team-high 36 assists for Chattanooga. Paige Gallentine posted 17 digs as Finch added 10 to her stat line on Friday night.
WCU's season-high 13 aces is tied for fifth in the single-game record book and are the most aces in a match since last October when 13 aces were recorded in a four-set win at The Citadel.
The Catamounts improved to 9-1 on the season when outhitting their opponents as WCU hit a season-high .308 in the win including a .471 hitting percentage in the third set.
Chattanooga (17-11, 5-8 SoCon) started fast in the opening set with a 4-1 burst out of the gates before the Catamounts responded with a 10-4 run to claim an 11-8 edge. The two teams went back and forth to the media break with the hosts holding a 15-11 advantage at the halfway mark. Western Carolina (9-15, 6-7 SoCon) pushed across four of the next five points out of the media break to force a Mocs timeout.
Chattanooga scored the first two out of the timeout before a 6-2 run allowed the Catamounts to claim the set, 25-16.
The Mocs started quickly in set two, gaining a 9-4 edge, which forced an early WCU timeout. Both teams traded spurts to the midpoint of the second set, which allowed the guests to gain a 15-10 lead before a 6-2 run from WCU cut the deficit to one, 17-16, and forced a UTC timeout. The tight second set continued down the stretch as neither team gained more than a one-point advantage until back-to-back points from Chattanooga made it 23-21 and forced a WCU timeout.
The Catamounts answered with four straight points to complete the rally and take set two 25-23.
The third set was tight out of the gates with six early ties before a 9-5 run from WCU made it 15-11 at the media break. The set remained balanced with the two teams going back and forth as WCU took a 19-14 lead late, which forced the Mocs to use a timeout. The Catamounts answered with a 4-2 spurt en route to claiming set three 25-18 over Chattanooga.
The Catamounts prepare for their final home match of the 2023 regular season as WCU welcomes in Samford on Saturday night for a 6 p.m. first serve. The match will be on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats 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 the Bulldogs.
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