CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Zoe Zudans led three Catamounts with career performances in Friday night's chromatic Southern Conference rivalry match with Furman, but the Paladins escaped with five-set victory on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. A sophomore, Zudans led all players with a match-high and career benchmark 22 kills.

Behind Zudans, classmate Logan Carr added a career-best 16 kills, registering only one attack error and swatted three blocks for WCU. Junior Ali Morris rounded out the Catamount double-figure offensive performances with 11 kills and a team-high 21 digs for her 10 double-double of the season.

Sophomore Katie Boney rounded out the trio of career performances for WCU with a career-high 51 assists and 15 digs, establishing new benchmarks in both stat categories. Boney is the first Catamount to eclipse 50 assists in a match since last November when current senior Sarah Janourova totaled 55 helpers in the SoCon tournament against Wofford.

On the defensive end, the Catamounts were spearheaded by Morris (21 digs) and Boney (15 digs), as sophomore libero Eda Yalçinkaya added 15 digs while Janourova and freshman Halley Tang both had 10. Carr was joined in the team lead with three blocks by seasonal leader junior Janelle Blue who added three more stops and five kills.

Izzy Castelloe paced the Paladins with 19 kills along with five blocks, while Chandler Parker finished with 15 kills and five stops. Tennyson Gorman added 14 kills and six rejections at the net, and Ava Augustson added 10 kills and 16 digs for a double-double performance. Quinn Morrissey led the way in the helpers with 35 assists and 17 digs in the double-dop, while Emily Navarro added 16 helpers for the guests. Kennedy Seekford led the Paladins with 18 digs and Ashley Stein finished with 17.

After an even start in the early going, the Paladins took control of the opening set with an 8-3 spurt to make it 15-10 at the first media timeout of the match. WCU scored the next point out of the timeout before Furman (9-11, 3-6 SoCon) used a 10-3 run down the stretch to polish off the set 25-14 and grab the early lead.

Following each team trading a 5-2 burst out of the gates, Furman used an 8-4 answer to WCU's run to make it 15-11 at the media break in the second set. The Catamounts answered the bell out of the timeout using a 6-2 run to even things at 17 and force a timeout for Furman. After the two teams went back and forth for the following eight points, WCU closed on a 4-2 burst to even the match at a win apiece at 25-22 in the second set.

Western Carolina rode the momentum of the second set to an early 7-2 advantage in the pivotal third, forcing a timeout from the visitors. Following a quick answer from the Paladins, Western Carolina pushed back with a 6-3 run of its own to take a 13-9 lead midway through the set. Furman then used an 11-4 run of its own to move back in front by three, 20-17, forcing a WCU timeout late in the set. The hosts clawed all the way back to a one-point deficit at 23-22 before the Paladins closed with a pair of late points to take the set 25-23.

WCU answered an early burst from Furman with a 7-3 run to quickly tie the fourth set at seven apiece. The Paladins responded with five of the next six points to take a 12-8 lead and force a WCU timeout. Furman inched the lead to four, 14-10 before the Catamounts came storming back with a 13-5 run to move in front 22-19 and force Furman to call a late timeout. The Paladins scored three of the following four points to cut the deficit to one, but back-to-back kills from Zudans and Samantha Jo Mikosky off the bench sent Friday's match the distance.

The Paladins gained the early edge in the fifth set, jumping in front by three on a pair of occasions, with the latter happening at 8-5 as the two squads flipped sides. After WCU managed to even the score at eight, the Paladins answered with three of the ensuing four points to take an 11-9 lead, forcing a hosts timeout. The Paladins quickly sprung the lead to four, 14-10, and after a pair of Morris kills extended the match, Furman held on 15-12 to claim the SoCon battle in five sets.

Western Carolina (7-16, 1-9 SoCon) closes its extended homestand with a Wednesday afternoon tilt against Mercer on Nov. 6, beginning at Noon, to make up a match that was postponed due to Hurricane Helene in September. The match with the Bears will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), and live stats will be available on CatamountSports.com.

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