CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Junior Ali Morris and sophomore Logan Carr led the Western Carolina offensive attack with 11 kills apiece as Morris finished off her team-high 13th double-double of the season with 11 digs as the Catamounts opened the final weekend of regular-season Southern Conference play with a tight three-set defeat at the hands of mountain-rival East Tennessee State on Thursday night on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
 
Morris added four blocks to her stat line while Carr was a mainstay on the WCU block, with five rejections to lead the way.

Junior Janelle Blue chipped in eight kills and three blocks. Sophomore Katie Boney led the assist column with 35 helpers while classmate Eda Yalçinkaya totaled a game-high 18 digs for the Catamounts defense.

Whitley Rammel led all players with 13 kills and five blocks for ETSU. Amanda Lowe added nine kills, while Brianna Cantrell and Makayla Bays finished with seven apiece. Reese Rhodes led the guests in the assist column with 33 and 11 digs for the double-double. Abbey Thomas led all players on Thursday with seven rejections. Melanie Morris paced the defensive side of the court for ETSU with 15 digs.

ETSU (17-10, 9-6 SoCon) started fast with an 8-3 burst out off the opening serve on Thursday. After WCU was able to chip away at the deficit, the Bucs used a 7-4 run to claim a 15-10 lead at the opening media break. WCU fought back out of the timeout with six of the next eight points before three straight gave the Bucs a 20-16 lead and forced a WCU timeout. The Catamounts clawed back with a 7-2 run that inched the hosts in front by one, 23-22. However, ETSU closed with three consecutive points to rally and gave ETSU a 25-23 set one win.

The second set saw five ties before the Bucs used a 6-1 run down the stretch to carry a 15-11 lead to the media break. Similar to set one, WCU responded out of the media stoppage with a 6-1 run to jump in front 17-16 and force the guests to call a timeout. ETSU responded out of its timeout with a 9-4 run to the finish and took set two 25-21.

ETSU again opened the third set quickly with a 7-2 burst out of the gates before stretching it to 10-5 early. Using a 7-3 run from WCU, the Catamounts cut the margin back to one, 13-12, for the Bucs and forcing a timeout. The Bucs quickly stretched the lead to three, 17-14, before the following 12 points went back and forth to give ETSU a late 23-20 lead. WCU pushed back with a 5-1 spurt to be the first to 25 at 25-24. The two teams then traded nine set/match points, with neither team able to gain an edge before the Bucs finally inched ahead 34-32 to claim the match in three sets.  

Western Carolina (8-19, 2-12 SoCon) closes out the 2024 regular season on Friday (Nov. 15) against Chattanooga at 6 p.m. on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. Before Friday's first serve, the Catamounts will honor their 2024 senior class which includes Ollie Henderson, Bailey Hartsough, and Sarah Janourova. Each of them will be recognized for their accomplishments and contributions to the program. Friday's match will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), and live stats will be available on CatamountSports.com.

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