Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina volleyball closed out its first home weekend of the 2024 season on the wrong end of a tight, straight-set defeat at the hands of the defending Southern Conference tournament champion Wofford Saturday night on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
Sophomore
Logan Carr finished with a team-high 10 kills to accompany four blocks on the defensive end in helping pace the Catamounts. Senior
Bailey Hartsough totaled nine kills and 10 digs, followed closely by junior
Ali Morris with a team-high 15 digs and seven kills. Senior
Sarah Janourova added 17 assists and sophomore
Katie Boney handed out 14 helpers with 12 digs for her fourth double-double of the season – and second on the home-opening weekend.
On the defensive side of the court, junior
Janelle Blue tallied a match-high nine blocks including three solo stuffs with four kills, while classmate
Samantha Jo Mikosky finished with five blocks, four digs, and three kills.
Mary Emily Morgan posted a double-double tallying a match-high 12 kills along with 14 digs for the Terriers. Both Sarah MacLean and Bri Mahoney finished with 10 kills apiece. Taylor Pecht led the way in the assist column with 22 helpers as Maddy Frazier tallied 16 assists and 10 digs. On the defensive end, Annmarie Rakoski and Bradley Brown finished with four blocks apiece as Laney Klika added a team-best 15 digs.
Wofford wasted little time on Saturday night using an early 8-4 run to jump out in the opening set before the Catamounts answered with a 9-2 burst of their own to take a 13-10 lead to the media break. The hosts kept the pressure on the Terriers with five of the ensuing eight points to force a Terrier timeout.
The guests continued to push back with an 8-4 run once again to cut the deficit to one, 22-21 and force a WCU timeout. Wofford was the first to 25 with four of the following six points before the Terriers withstood the Catamounts in extra points to claim a 29-27 win in the opening set.
The hosts flipped the script in set two jumping out to the early 8-4 lead before the Terriers responded with an 11-4 run of their own to grab a 15-12 lead at the media timeout. WCU regained a tight lead on the heels of a 7-3 burst that made it 19-18 Catamounts before Wofford spent a timeout. The Terriers were able to answer the bell out of the stoppage with a 7-3 run down the stretch to claim a 25-22 win in the set and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Neither team gained much footing in the early stages of set three before a quick 5-2 run from Wofford pushed it in front by four, 12-8 and forced a Catamount timeout. The guests scored six of the next eight points before a quick 3-0 spurt saw Wofford call a timeout leading 18-13. The Terriers stretched the lead to eight, 24-16 before WCU fought back with eight straight points before Wofford finished off a sweep at 26-24.
The Catamounts make their Tennessee swing in conference play by first heading to Chattanooga on Friday, Oct. 18 with first serve set for 6 p.m. before traveling to Johnson City at 4 p.m. the next afternoon. Both matchups with the Mocs and the Bucs will be shown on ESPN+ (
paid subscription required), and live stats will be available on CatamountSports.com.
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).
