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Women's Volleyball 9/29/2023 12:30:00 PM Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Catamounts Set to Battle Mercer on Saturday Night

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina volleyball continues SoCon play on Saturday night when the Catamounts play host to Mercer at Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center with first serve set for 6 p.m. The match will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available online through CatamountSports.com.

Matchup: Mercer (5-8, 1-1 SoCon) vs Western Carolina (4-10, 1-2 SoCon)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 30
Time: 6 p.m.
Site: Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center (Cullowhee, N.C.)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Live Video: ESPN+
Twitter: @CatamountVB

Western Carolina returns home after a 3-0 setback at the hands of The Citadel in Charleston on Wednesday night. The Catamounts were led by junior Sarah Janourova with her seventh double-double of the season tallying 15 assists and 12 digs as freshman Katie Boney had a double-double with 12 assists and 11 digs.

In SoCon matches, Janourova ranks fifth in the league with 70 assists thru the first three matches. As a team, WCU is tied for second in conference matches with 154 kills led by Ali Morris with 36 kills and Bailey Hartsough with 33. The Catamounts lead the SoCon in conference matches with 21 aces as Morris leads the way with five of the team-high.

Mercer enters Saturday's match with a 5-8 mark including a 1-1 Southern Conference record after the opening week of league play. The Bears have earned all five of their wins in straight sets including last time out against UNCG. Mercer is led offensively by Kylee Quigley who's totaled 126 kills along with a team-high 21 service aces thus far for the Bears. Kiera McCarles leads the way for Mercer with 211 assists as Jessica Dunn has tallied 146 helpers in 2023. Skyler Bumpers leads the way for the Bears with 42 blocks as Abbey Havrilla has a team-best 177 digs on the defensive end. Mercer was tabbed seventh in the 2023 SoCon Preseason Poll under the direction of Chad Sutton who's in his first year in Macon.

WCU holds a 22-13 edge in the all-time series with Mercer as the Catamounts claimed all three meeting over the Bears in 2022 in straight sets all three times. Bailey Hartsough tallied 21 kills in the three matches which included a double-double of 12 kills and 12 digs during the 2022 SoCon Championship. Livi Weidmann added 20 kills in the three matches as Eden Punch totaled 13 blocks and 12 kills against the Bears. Western Carolina holds an 11-3 record against Mercer in Cullowhee which includes home wins in four of the last five matches at home.

Following Saturday's matchup with Mercer, the Catamounts hit the road for a pair of SoCon battles beginning on Friday, Oct. 6 when WCU travels to Birmingham to battle Samford with first serve set for 8 p.m. EST. The weekend concludes the next night with a 7:30 p.m. start from Chattanooga facing off with the Mocs. The match with Samford on Friday will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) and live stats will be provided by CatamountSports.Com for both matches.

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)

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Players Mentioned

#8 Bailey Hartsough: OH; 5' 10"; Junior

#12 Sarah Janourova: S; 5' 9"; Junior

#3 Ali Morris: OH; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#17 Eden Punch: MB; 5' 10"; Senior

#16 Livi Weidmann: RS; 5' 11"; Senior

#18 Katie Boney: S; 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#8 Bailey Hartsough
: 5' 10"; Junior
: OH

#12 Sarah Janourova
: 5' 9"; Junior
: S

#3 Ali Morris
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: OH

#17 Eden Punch
: 5' 10"; Senior
: MB

#16 Livi Weidmann
: 5' 11"; Senior
: RS

#18 Katie Boney
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: S