CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Sophomore Ali Morris posted her fifth double-double of the season with 17 kills and a career-high 22 digs as Western Carolina volleyball dropped a hard-fought Southern Conference match in five sets on Friday night on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. The Paladins won by the scores of 17-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-14, 15-11.
The Catamounts are now 4-9 overall and sit at 1-1 following the opening weekend of league play, while Furman climbs to 10-2 and is now 1-0 in SoCon play.
Morris led the offense on Friday with 17 kills and her career-high 22 digs along with a career highs in service aces (3) and assists (4). Bailey Hartsough added her fourth double-double of the season as she recorded 12 kills and 17 digs in the match. Sarah Janourova picked up her sixth double-double of the season adding 25 assists and 15 digs.
Freshman Katie Boney dished out a career-best 25 assists while also adding six digs to her stat line as classmate Logan Carr tallied a new career-best with 10 kills on 17 swings along with a pair of blocks.
Lauren Haynes led the way for Furman with 21 kills along with 11 digs while Lindsay Walch added 12 kills for the guests. Ella Abraham totaled 35 assists along with eight digs. On the defensive end, Kennedy Seekford led the way for the Paladins adding 22 digs as Grainne McGrath had six blocks.
Furman started quickly with a 5-1 burst out of the gates to gain the early edge in the opening set on Friday night. The two teams traded points over the next several before the Catamounts evened the set at nine with a 5-1 run of their own. Furman scored the next three points before six unanswered from the hosts made it 15-12 at the media timeout. WCU continued to keep the pressure up scoring six of the next nine points that extended the lead forcing Furman to use both of its timeouts. The Paladins inched closer out of the timeout before four straight points gave the Catamounts the set 25-17.
The Paladins came out fast once again in set two with five of the opening seven points before WCU answered with a 5-1 run to take a slim lead in the early stages. The guests pushed in front on the strength of a 5-2 burst before four straight from the Catamounts gave the home team the lead and had Furman use its first timeout. The Paladins scored the sets next four points leading to a WCU timeout. The Catamounts quickly evened it at 16 before 5-1 Paladins run forced WCU's second timeout. Western Carolina battled back to cut the deficit to one, 23-22, before the Paladins closed the set to even the match at a set apiece.
The start of the third set featured eight ties as both teams fought to gain the edge before a quick 3-1 spurt pushed WCU in front by the score of 12-10. Furman was able to even the score at 14 scoring four of the next six points in the set. Western Carolina answered with a 6-1 run that extended the lead to 20-15 leading to a Paladins timeout. Furman whittled the deficit to three, 22-19, before the Catamounts closed scoring three of the final five points to gain a 2-1 lead in the match.
WCU gained an early edge at 5-3 before a 6-2 burst from Furman forced the hosts into an early timeout. The Paladins continued to keep the pressure up with seven of the next 10 points forcing a second Catamounts timeout. The hosts cut the deficit to six, 17-11 before Furman closed on an 8-3 run to claim the set at 25-14 forcing the decisive fifth set.
Both teams looked for an early edge as the two teams tied five times in the early going before the Catamounts gained an 8-7 edge at the changeover. Furman seized control out of the media break with four of the next seven points to force a Catamounts timeout. Furman held on down the stretch with a 15-11 set five victory on Friday night.
The Catamounts hit the road for the first time in league play on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m. when WCU heads to Charleston to battle The Citadel from McAlister Field House. The matchup with the Bulldogs will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) and live stats will be provided by CatamountSports.com.
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