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Junior Ali Morris finished with a double-double on Thursday night tallying 18 kills and 25 digs against The Citadel on Ingles Court inside the Ramsey Center.
Ashley Evans, WCU Communications and Marketing
3
Winner The Citadel Cit 11-9,5-4 SoCon
1
Western Caro. WCU 7-13,1-6 SoCon
Winner
The Citadel Cit
11-9,5-4 SoCon
3
Final
1
Western Caro. WCU
7-13,1-6 SoCon
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
The Citadel Cit 25 25 19 25 (3)
Western Caro. WCU 18 17 25 20 (1)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Volleyball Falls in Home Decision to The Citadel

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Junior Ali Morris posted another strong performance against The Citadel on Thursday night with a team-high 18 kills and 25 digs in double-double fashion, but the visiting Bulldogs downed the Catamounts in four sets on Ingles Court inside the Ramsey Center.
 
In two regular-season meetings with The Citadel, Morris posted 43 kills and 51 digs as she followed up on her career day in Charleston where she had a career-best 25 kills and career-high tying 26 digs in the road victory before tonight's strong showing.
 
Her double-double on Thursday night was her ninth of the season as the Knoxville, Tenn. native also posted a .241 hitting percentage. Sophomore Zoe Zudans had a career night with 11 kills and classmate Logan Carr rounded out the double-figure offensive performers with 10 kills, also collecting a team-high five blocks.
 
Senior Sarah Janourova posted her team-high 11th double-double of the season with a team-best tying 19 assists and 10 digs. Sophomore Katie Boney also handed out 19 assists along with five digs. Classmate Eda Yalçinkaya tallied her fourth match with 20+ digs, finishing with 22 on the defensive end.  Freshman Peri Subat finished with three blocks and junior Janelle Blue continued her strong work on the defensive end with a pair of rejections to push her seasonal total to 89.
 
Sophie Childs led The Citadel (11-9, 5-4 SoCon) with 13 kills and four blocks. Sadie Gomez finished with nine kills, and Ali Ruffin added eight and 16 digs for the Bulldogs. Belle Hogan posted 33 helpers, along with nine digs on the defensive end of the court. Jaelynn Elgert led all players with 26 digs as Elgert added a pair of aces and five assists. Mackenzie Martin totaled 18 digs for the Bulldogs.
 
After the guests raced out to an early four-point lead, WCU responded with a 6-1 run to grab a tight one-point lead before The Citadel scored the next six points to take a 15-10 lead at the media break in the opening set. Following a quick pushback from the Catamounts, the Bulldogs answered with five of the next six points to take a 21-14 lead and force the hosts to spend a timeout. WCU and The Citadel traded points down the stretch to see the guests claim a 25-18 set one victory.
 
The Citadel used an early 7-2 run in the second set to stretch the lead to five, 9-4, and force Western Carolina to call an early timeout. After the break, the Catamounts answered with a 10-5 run to even the set at 14 before five unanswered from The Citadel led to a WCU timeout. Western Carolina managed to cut the deficit to five on multiple occasions before three late points saw the Cadets claim the set 25-17 and a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
In a must-win third set, WCU answered the bell early with a 7-3 burst right out of the gates to jump to the early advantage before the Bulldogs eroded the deficit down to two points at 10-8. The hosts responded with a 5-2 spurt to take a 15-10 lead at the media break. The Citadel pushed back and cut the deficit to four, 20-16, but would not get any closer as WCU held on down the stretch for a 25-19 set win and extend the match to a fourth set.
 
The Citadel grabbed the early edge at 7-4, but a quick 3-1 spurt from the Catamounts forced the guests into an early timeout. The Bulldogs used that momentum-stopper to its advantage with a 7-0 run to regain control of the set at 14-7. The Catamounts continued to push back with a 9-4 run to cut the deficit to two, 18-16, but a pair of Bulldog points made it a four-point deficit and forced a WCU timeout. The Catamounts fought back with four of the next five points, but the 'Dogs used four unanswered points to claim the match in four sets.
 
Western Carolina (7-13, 1-6 SoCon) heads to Macon, Ga., to battle Mercer for the first time in 2024 after the home meeting with the Bears was postponed due to Hurricane Helene. Saturday night's matchup at Hawkins Arena is scheduled for a  first serve set at 7 p.m. The SoCon bout will only have live stats available through a link at 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).
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