Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina volleyball opens the second half of Southern Conference play on Thursday when the Catamounts welcome The Citadel to Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center for its annual "Dig Pink" match with fans encouraged to wear pink to raise awareness and as a show of support for those affected by breast cancer. Thursday match is set for 6 p.m.
WCU then travels to Mercer on Saturday night for a bout with the Bears with the first serve set for 7 p.m. and will be preceded by Catamount football battling Mercer at the adjacent Five Star Stadium.
Admission to Thursday's match – and all home matches throughout the 2024 season – is free of charge, presented by First Bank. Thursday's match against the Bulldogs will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available for both matches online through a link at CatamountSports.com.
Western Carolina and The Citadel meet Thursday in a rematch of the 2024 SoCon-opening match for both squads. WCU looks to continue its winning ways over the Bulldogs, who have won back-to-back matches and eight of the last 11 head-to-head battles. The Catamounts have controlled the series in Cullowhee, going 20-3 all-time against the Bulldogs at home.
MATCHUP: The Citadel (10-9, 4-4 SoCon) vs Western Carolina (7-12, 1-5 SoCon)
Date: Thursday, Oct. 24
Time: 6 p.m.
Site: Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center (Cullowhee, N.C.)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Live Video: ESPN+
Twitter: @CatamountVB
MATCHUP: Western Carolina at Mercer (16-4, 6-1 SoCon)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 26
Time: 7 p.m.
Site: Hawkins Arena (Macon, Ga.)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Twitter: @CatamountVB
Back to Serve:
Seniors Bailey Hartsough and Sarah Janourova both eclipsed career milestones during Western Carolina's trek to the Volunteer State last week, but Chattanooga and ETSU both spoiled the nights with a pair of straight-set victories. Hartsough eclipsed 1,000 career digs in the matchup with the Mocs, becoming the 13th player in program history to crest both 1,000 kills and digs at WCU. Janourova by-passed the 2,000 career assist plateau, becoming the 11th player in program history to reach the 2,000 helper mark.
Junior Ali Morris led the offensive attack over the weekend with a combined 20 kills to accompany 20 digs. She posted 13 kills in the matchup with the Bucs and 11 digs in the defeat at UTC. Sophomore Logan Carr finished with 12 kills and Hartsough added 10 to her seasonal stat line. Janourova dished out a team-high 42 assists along with 18 digs as she grabbed her 10th double-double of the season in Chattanooga with 25 assists and 14 digs. Her setting counterpart sophomore Katie Boney added 21 assists and 19 digs throughout the weekend with 17 of those helpers coming in Johnson City.
Sophomore Eda Yalcinkaya posted a team-high 34 digs, including setting a new career-high with 24 against Chattanooga. Junior Janelle Blue continued her vital work on the defensive end, posting five blocks to run her seasonal total to a team-leading and league-best 87 (1.32 per set).
Western Carolina enters Thursday's "Dig Pink" match atop the league in blocks, averaging 2.51 rejections per set. Junior Samantha Jo Mikosky sits second on the team and tied for sixth in the league with 62 blocks, third in the SoCon at 1.11 blocks per set. Logan Carr is tied for ninth overall with 58 stops. As a team, WCU has posted six or more blocks in 17 of 19 matches including a high mark of 17 in a five-set win over American. The Catamounts have eclipsed 11 blocks five times in 2024, including both home matches in the 2024 season.
Adding to the Catamount defense, the squad has also been strong along the back line, totaling 1,206 digs – fourth in the SoCon while averaging 18 digs per set to rank third in the league and inside the top 10 nationally. Eda Yalçinkaya leads the team with 253 digs after her career-high 24 against Chattanooga last weekend. She also ranks 10th in the league, averaging 3.78 digs/set. She's joined in triple digits by Hartsough with 251 digs, followed by Morris at 239 digs, and setters Janourova and Boney both have eclipsed 100+ digs at 176 and 118, respectively.
Last Time We Met – Western Carolina 3, The Citadel 2: RECAP
Junior Ali Morris led three Catamounts with double-digit kills by posting a career-high 25 as Western Carolina outlasted The Citadel in a five-set marathon victory in the Southern Conference opener for both squads at the McAlister Fieldhouse in Charleston, S.C. She finished with a double-double, adding a career-high 26 digs to lead WCU as she grabbed her seventh double-double.
Senior Bailey Hartsough finished with 18 kills in the winning effort, eclipsing the 1,000-kill mark in her career while setting a career-high of 27 digs. Sophomore Logan Carr rounded out WCU's trio of double-digit kills with a career-high 13 on a .417 attack percentage.
Catamount Career Record Watch:
Senior Sarah Janourova (2,033 assists, 930 digs, 92 aces): The Prague, Czech Republic native became the 11th player in program history to surpass the 2,000 helper mark last week against Chattanooga ... Janourova is the first Catamount to eclipse 2K career assists since Hannah Price (2017-20), who finished her career with 2,324 assists ... Janourova was fifth in the SoCon with 731 assists in 2023 to pace the Catamounts ... She also sits within striking distance of the 1,000 dig plateau, needing 70 to surpass that benchmark ... Janourova also needs just eight service aces to eclipse 100 for her career as she looks to become the 16th WCU student-athlete to reach that mark – chasing that benchmark along with classmate Bailey Hartsough.
Senior Bailey Hartsough (1,046 kills, 1,004 digs, 99 aces): Hartsough became the 16th Catamount in program history to surpass 1,000 career kills with her 18 kills in the Catamounts' five-set win over The Citadel ... She is the most recent WCU student-athlete eclipse 1K kills since Merry Gebel (2018-22) who finished in the No. 2 spot in career kills with 1,693 ... A product of LaGrange, Ind., Hartsough became the 13th player in program history to reach 1,000 digs while also eclipsing 1,000 kills doing that in last week's match at Chattanooga ... Hartsough needs just one service aces to eclipse 100 for her career looking to become the 16th student-athlete in Catamount volleyball history to reach that mark – chasing that benchmark along with classmate Janourova.
The Citadel (10-9, 4-4 SoCon in 2024) – RPI 180 in 2024
The Bulldogs enters play on Thursday with a 10-9 record and a 4-4 mark in SoCon matches after defeating Furman on Saturday in three sets in addition to five-set victories over Wofford, UNCG, and Chattanooga. In nonconference play, The Citadel squared off with national runner-up Nebraska while also battling SEC foe Alabama. Last year's regular-season SoCon champion, The Citadel finished with a 27-4 record with a 14-2 mark in SoCon play last season, advancing to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) before falling to ECU.
Senior Ali Ruffin leads the Bulldogs with 231 kills to rank sixth in the SoCon, collecting a Player of the Week honor. She's had 12 matches with 11 or more kills. Graduate student Mackenzie Martin sits with 205 kills for The Citadel with 10 double-doubles, and classmate Sophie Childs has 198 kills to help pace the Bulldogs offensive attack. Senior Belle Hogan ranks sixth in the league with 567 assists, posting eight double-doubles and seven matches of 40-plus assists. Martin leads the Bulldogs with 20 aces, and Hogan has 18 service aces thus far.
On the defensive end, graduate student Jaelynn Elgert is fourth in the SoCon with 337 digs, totaling double-digit digs in 13 matches including a season-high 34 against WCU in the first meeting. Ruffin is closely behind with 301 digs in fifth place in the league with 15 matches with double-figure digs to help contribute to her 12 double-doubles. Martin sits in 10th spot in the league with 257 digs as Hogan rounds out the quarter with 147 digs. Sophomore Peri Hoshock has a team-high 56 blocks as junior Aaliyah Byers follows closely behind at 54 rejections. Elgert and Hoshock have garnered a SoCon Defensive Player of the Week award in 2024.
The Bulldogs were picked to defend their 2023 regular-season title as they received four of the eight first-place votes from the league coaches. The Citadel was one of two programs to receive multiple all-conferences, as the league honored seniors Belle Hogan and Ali Ruffin.
Mercer (16-4, 6-1 SoCon in 2024) – RPI 91 in 2024
WCU returns to the road on Saturday night for a matchup against one of the top teams in the league in Mercer. The two teams meet for the first time in 2024 after the previously scheduled home opener for the Catamounts against the Bears was postponed due to Hurricane Helene. The two teams split their matchups in 2023 with both squads winning on the road. Mercer earned a four-set win in Cullowhee, while WCU downed the Bears in five sets in Macon. The Catamounts hold a 23-14 edge in the all-time series against the Bears and a tight 7-6 edge in head-to-head battles in Macon.
Mercer begins the week with a 16-4 record including a 6-1 mark in SoCon play. The Bears host The Citadel on Friday night before welcoming the Catamounts to town for a Saturday night bout in the backend of a WCU-Mercer football/volleyball doubleheader.
Mercer has wins in six of its last seven matches including three straight in SoCon play against Furman, UNCG, and Wofford. The Bears put together a pair of five-match win streaks in the early stages of the 2024 campaign and have only dropped back-to-back matches once thus far in losses to FAU & Illinois State. Mercer finished 2023 with a 16-12 record, including a 12-4 mark in the SoCon.
Senior Skye Ekes has led the Bears, ranked second in the SoCon with 284 kills as she's hit double-digits 18 times, including 15 straight matches leading into this weekend's action. Classmate Gia Padilla has totaled seven double-doubles totaling 194 kills. Senior Skyler Bumpers has 134 kills, followed closely by the freshman pair of Sophia Henry and Lou Johnson with 128 and 123, respectively.
Graduate student Brooke Phillips leads the Bears in assists, fourth in the league with 731 helpers. She also leads the Bears with 54 service aces as Mercer leads the league with 180. On the defensive end, freshman MeMe Davis leads the way with 356 digs, tied for third in the league, as Padilla has 189 and Phillips has totaled 173 thus far, with Abbey Havrilla sitting with 116 digs in the Bears opening 20 matches. Bumpers has a team-high 56 blocks, as Johnson has totaled 52 rejections.
The Bears were picked third in the SoCon Preseason Poll. Mercer was one of five schools that received at least one first-place vote and one of six schools overall to be tabbed for first-place honors within the league. Skyler Bumpers was the lone Mercer representative named to the league's preseason all-conference team.
Up Next for the Catamounts:
Following Saturday's action from Macon, the Catamounts return home for a pair of matches beginning on Thursday, Oct. 31, against Samford before battling chromatic rival Furman the next night on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. Both matchups with the Bulldogs and the Paladins 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).
