CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Senior Livi Weidmann tallied a career-high 18 kills while junior Bailey Hartsough added 16 kills, nine digs, and four assists as Western Carolina volleyball began Southern Conference play with a five-set victory over ETSU on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center on Thursday night. WCU won by the scores of 21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 22-25, 15-7.
The Catamounts improve to 4-8 along with a 1-0 mark in league play, while ETSU drops to 0-12 and 0-1 in SoCon matches.
Thursday's win marks the fifth straight season that the Catamounts have opened SoCon play with a victory.
Weidmann had her best performance as a Catamount connecting on 18 kills while hitting .275 and also adding a pair of blocks to her stat line. Hartsough totaled 16 kills along with nine digs and four assists. Ali Morris picked up her fourth double-double of the 2023 season recording 13 kills and 10 digs.
Sarah Janourova filled the stat sheet once again on Thursday with a season-high 30 assists along with 17 digs for her fifth double-double of the campaign. Katie Boney added 18 assists along with three digs and a pair of aces for WCU. Eden Punch led the way on the block with five blocks as Janelle Blue had four rejections.
Brianna Cantrell led the way for ETSU tallying 21 kills along with 11 digs to help pace the Bucs. Amanda Lowe added 12 kills and three blocks as Malgorzata Andersohn had a match-high 44 assists and 11 digs. Melanie Morris led the Bucs with 13 digs on the defensive end as Whitley Rammel totaled a team-high five blocks along with seven kills.
The two teams traded 5-3 runs out of the gates to lead to the sets fifth tie in the early going of the opening set on Thursday night. ETSU pushed ahead on the heels of a 5-2 spurt to take a 15-12 advantage to the media break. The Catamounts responded with a four of the next five points to even the set up at 16 before the Bucs quickly stretched the advantage to three, 20-17 late in the first set. The guests continued to keep an advantage and after taking a 22-20 lead forced WCU to use a timeout. ETSU scored three of the final four points to claim the opening set 25-21 and get the early lead on Thursday night.
ETSU and WCU started the second set similarly to the opening stanza with numerous early ties before the Bucs pulled in front with a 5-2 run to claim an 11-8 advantage in the early stages of the set. The hosts responded with six consecutive points to jump in front and force ETSU to use a timeout. After a quick point from the Catamounts, ETSU pushed back and cut the deficit to two, 19-17 in the late stages of the set. WCU closed on a 6-2 run to claim the set 25-19 to even the match at one set apiece.
Western Carolina got out to the early 6-4 lead in the third set before the Bucs answered with four of the next seven points to cut the WCU lead one, 9-8. The hosts kept the advantage throughout the middle portion of the set extending the lead to 15-12 at the media timeout. ETSU put the next two points on the board before a 5-2 burst pushed the Catamounts out to a 20-16 lead forcing an ETSU timeout. The Bucs answered with three of the next four points to cut the deficit in half and force WCU to use a timeout. The Catamounts finished the set scoring four of the final five points to claim the set 25-20 and lead the match 2-1.
ETSU opened the fourth set with six of the first nine points to gain the early advantage before the Catamounts answered with a 6-3 burst of their own to even the score at nine. ETSU inched in front with four of the next six points before the hosts scored four straight to claim a 15-13 lead at the media break. The hosts responded out of the break with a 7-4 run to get in front 20-19 late in the set. ETSU continued to put the pressure on WCU with five of the final eight points to claim the set 25-22 and force a decisive fifth set.
Western Carolina raced out of the gate in the final set on Thursday opening up a 6-2 lead forcing the Bucs into an early timeout. The Catamounts kept the offensive attack going with four of the six points which forced the guests into a second timeout. ETSU cut the deficit to six, 13-7 before back-to-back kills from Carr and Weidmann clinched the league opener for WCU.
The Catamounts close out opening weekend of SoCon play against Furman on Friday night with first serve set for 6 p.m. from Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. The match will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) as the match will have live stats provided through CatamountSports.com.
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