CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Four members of the 2023 Western Carolina volleyball program were selected among an elite list of NCAA Division I student-athletes on Tuesday afternoon as senior Eden Punch, along with juniors Bailey Hartsough and Sarah Janourova and sophomore Ali Morris were each named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team.
The 2023 Academic All-District® Volleyball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes volleyball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA. Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second-, and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced on Jan. 9, 2024.
Senior middle blocker Eden Punch holds a 3.99 cumulative GPA as a psychology major with a minor in business administration. She got the start in all 28 matches throughout the 2023 season, as she was one of five Catamounts to appear in all 106 sets in 2023. She led WCU with 97 blocks on the season and added 129 kills to her 2023 stats.
On the season, Punch had multiple blocks in 25 of 28 matches and posted her season-high seven rejections against N.C. Central (Sept. 9). On the offensive end, she posted her two best offensive performances in a WCU jersey with 11 kills against Samford (Nov. 4) and 12 kills at Wofford (Nov. 10). Punch finished her Western Carolina career 10th in blocks with 289, ninth in block assists tallying 225 and 12th in solo blocks with 64 throughout her time in Cullowhee. Punch joins Hartsough as a two-time honoree of All-District honors as the senior earned SoCon Commissioner Medal honors for the 2022-23 academic year.
Outside Hitter Bailey Hartsough carries a 4.0 cumulative GPA as the LaGrange, Ind., native is majoring in Integrated Health Sciences. She got the start in all 28 matches in the 2023 season as she was one of five Catamounts to appear in all 106 sets. She filled the stat sheet with a team-high 336 kills, finishing second on the team with 332 digs, and added 68 assists and a team-best 32 service aces to her stat line.
Hartsough finished with 13 double-doubles during the season, highlighted by a pair of 20+ kill performances including a career-high 24 kills against ETSU (Oct. 21) and 22 kills in the quarterfinals of the SoCon Tournament against Wofford (Nov. 17). Hartsough's two 20+ kill performance were the most by a Catamount throughout the 2023 campaign. She is a two-time honoree of All-District honors as the junior earned SoCon Commissioner Medal honors for the 2022-23 academic year.
Sophomore Ali Morris carries a 3.97 cumulative GPA as an Integrated Health Sciences major. She started all 28 matches in the 2023 season, as she was one of five Catamounts to appear in all 106 sets in 2023.
Morris was a mainstay on the offensive end for WCU as the Knoxville, Tenn., native finished second on the team with 308 kills which included three 20-kill performances coming against Green Bay (Sept. 2), Mercer (Oct. 26) and Wofford (Nov. 17). She also was effective on the defensive end as she had a team-high 382 digs along with adding 58 assists, 33 blocks and 29 service aces. Morris earned SoCon Commissioner Medal Honors following the 2022-23 academic year.
Junior setter Sarah Janourova holds a 3.57 cumulative GPA as a double major in Marketing and Innovation Leadership and Entrepreneurship. The Prague, Czech Republic native tallied a team-high 731 assists as she eclipsed 20 helpers 19 times, including setting a new career-high with 55 assists in the SoCon tournament against Wofford (Nov. 17). Janourova tallied a team-high 16 double-doubles as she had 306 digs to go along with her assists.
In SoCon matches, she finished fourth in the league with 473 assists, while Janourova had four league matches with 40+ assists. In September, Janourova became the 16th player in program history to eclipse 1000 assists as she sits 14th in the program record book with 1,629 helpers. She earned the SoCon Honor Roll following the 2022-23 academic year.
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