Hartsough & Punch Earn All-SoCon Honors; Team Tabbed Fourth in Preseason Poll

8/16/2023 3:00:00 PM

By: Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina senior middle blocker Eden Punch along with junior outside hitter Bailey Hartsough earned preseason All-Southern Conference honors as the league announced its preseason awards on Wednesday afternoon. The Catamounts were one of three SoCon programs to put two players on the eight-member all-conference team for a second straight year.

WCU was also tabbed fourth in the 2023 Southern Conference Preseason poll voted on by the league's coaches also announced on Wednesday.

Hartsough finished second on the team a season ago with 288 kills, averaging 2.62 per set as she finished with nine double-doubles. The LaGrange, Ind. native added a team-high 38 service aces to her stat line, ranking fifth in the Southern Conference last season.

She tallied a career-high 22 kills a season ago in the National Invitational quarterfinal against Southern Miss while also tabulating a career-best 22 digs in a home SoCon match with Samford last year. Hartsough earned CSC Academic All-District honors, SoCon Honor Roll, and the league's Commissioner's Medal off the court.

Punch led the SoCon in 2022 with 129 blocks as she was one of only six in the league to average a block a set last year with 1.06 per set. She posted two of the three best block performances during the 2022 season with 11 apiece against Tennessee Tech and Liberty. The Burlington, Ontario native added 149 kills to her stat line as she saw action in all 33 games for WCU in 2022.

She earned SoCon Defensive Player of the Week after tallying eight blocks in a victory over Wake Forest. Punch earned CSC Academic All-District honors, SoCon Honor Roll, and the league's Commissioner's Medal off the court.

Joining Hartsough and Punch on the preseason squad were The Citadel's Ali Ruffin, Brianna Cantrell and Lundyn Coffman of ETSU, Samford's Gracie Lynn Butler and Katie Morgan, and Wofford's Sarah Barham.

ETSU was selected as the preseason favorite by the league's coaches with 58 points and five first-place votes, edging out defending tournament champion Samford by one point as the Bulldogs also earned two first-place votes.

Wofford picked up a pair of first-place votes and 52 points to earn third place in the poll. The Catamounts were tabbed fourth with 40 points as Chattanooga claimed the fifth spot with 35 points. The Citadel was selected in sixth place with 27 points, Mercer earned 24 points for seventh followed by Furman (19) and UNCG (12) to round out the nine-team preseason poll.

WCU continues its preparation for its lone exhibition match of the 2023 campaign as the Catamounts welcome USC Upstate to Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center on Saturday, Aug. 19 at 6 p.m. Following its exhibition on Aug. 19, Western Carolina begins its 2023 regular season on Aug. 25 against Florida State as part of the Classic City Clash, hosted by the University of Georgia in Athens.

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).

2023 Southern Conference Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll

Rk - School (first-place votes)	Points
1 - ETSU (5)	58
2 - Samford (2)	57
3 - Wofford (2)	52
4 - Western Carolina	40
5 - Chattanooga	35
6 - The Citadel	27
7 - Mercer	24
8 - Furman	19
9 - UNCG	12

2023 Southern Conference Volleyball Preseason All-Conference Team
Ali Ruffin, The Citadel, Jr., OH
Brianna Cantrell, ETSU, So., OH
Lundyn Coffman, ETSU, Gr., MB
Gracie Lynn Butler, Samford, Jr., OH
Kate Morgan, Samford, Jr., LIB/DS
Bailey Hartsough, Western Carolina, Jr., OH
Eden Punch, Western Carolina, Sr., MB
Sarah Barham, Wofford, Sr., MB

Print Friendly Version