CLEMSON, S.C. – Western Carolina volleyball began its second weekend of the 2023 season dropping a straight-set decision to ACC-foe and tournament host Clemson in the first match of the Clemson Invitational inside Jervey Gym on Friday evening. Clemson won by scores of 26-28, 17-25, and 21-25.
Livi Weidman paced the Catamount offense with 10 kills and Bailey Hartsough tallied seven kills and nine digs in the match. Sarah Janourova led WCU with 16 assists as she added seven digs and a pair of aces. Katie Boney totaled 14 assists and eight digs. Ali Morris led the way defensively with 12 digs for Western Carolina as Logan Carr and Eden Punch each had three blocks.
Mia McGrath led all players in the match with 12 kills to pace the Clemson offense on Friday. Mckenna Slavik led the hosts with 27 assists and 10 digs along with four blocks. Devan Taylor totaled a match-best 19 digs on the defensive end for the Tigers. Kate Simington recorded seven blocks in the match for the Tigers.
In the early going on Friday, neither team was able to gain more than a two-point edge. The start of set one featured eight ties and seven lead changes before a 5-0 run gave WCU the 15-11 lead at the media break. Clemson responded with a quick 3-0 spurt to cut it to a one-point margin before three of the next four came from WCU forcing a Tigers timeout. Clemson evened the set at 19 and the two teams went back and forth down the stretch. Three unanswered from Clemson late gave the hosts a 28-26 victory.
Both teams went back and forth to begin the second set before a 5-1 run pushed Clemson to a 10-6 lead which forced a timeout by the Catamounts. The Tigers continued to keep the pressure up in set two scoring six of the next eight points to force the Catamounts into another timeout. Clemson pushed the lead to 11, 20-9 before WCU scored four of the next five points to cut into the hosts lead. The Catamounts were able to stave off four set points before Clemson claimed a 25-17 victory in set two.
WCU opened the third set fast with a 5-1 burst before the hosts had a 5-1 run of their own to even the set up in the early going. A 6-2 run from the Tigers gave them a 15-12 lead at the media break. A quick 3-1 spurt from the Catamounts cut it to a one-point set and forced Clemson to spend a timeout. The Tigers used a 6-2 burst that pushed it to a 22-17 lead forcing a WCU timeout. Clemson staved off three straight set points from the Catamounts to claim the match at 25-21.
The Catamounts continue play at the Clemson Invitational battling with Green Bay at 2 p.m. The tournament finale for the Catamounts is set for 11:30 a.m. on Sunday against South Alabama. Both matches will have live stats from Clemson.
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