CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Four early-season tournaments and a combined nine total home appearances on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center comprise Western Carolina volleyball's 29-match schedule announced today by 14th-year head coach Karen Glover.
The Catamounts won't leave the Old North State until late September, opening in late August with four weekend tournaments including a road trip to Power Five opponent North Carolina. The tournament-heavy opening month includes trips to East Carolina, Campbell, and Georgia Southern ahead of a 16-match Southern Conference slate. WCU's schedule features five teams that appeared in postseason action including SoCon tournament winner Wofford, along with East Carolina, The Citadel, Georgia Southern, and Winthrop, all of which played in the same pod of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).
In their lone home appearance until late September, the Catamounts begin their 2024 slate with a home match against Big South foe Gardner-Webb in an exhibition match on Friday, Aug. 23, at 6 p.m. on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
The first of three-consecutive in-state tournament road trips opens at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill as the Catamounts face former SoCon foe College of Charleston on Friday, Aug. 30. WCU also meets Cleveland State the next day before battling the host Tar Heels on Sunday, Sept. 1. The Catamounts return to the road on Friday, Sept. 6, with a doubleheader against schedule newcomer Texas A&M-Commerce before closing the day against N.C. A&T. The second weekend concludes against the host East Carolina Pirates the following afternoon.
Western Carolina returns to the court in midweek action on Tuesday, Sept. 10, with a mountain rivalry matchup on the road at UNC Asheville.
The squad's third in-state tournament is the following weekend as WCU heads to Campbell for the Fairfield Inn and Suites Dunn Campbell Invitational. The Catamounts battle N.C. Central on Friday, Sept. 13, before a pair of matches against American and the host Camels the next day.
The nonconference slate wraps up with the Bash in the Boro hosted by Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Ga. on Sept. 20-21. WCU faces Winthrop, the host GSU Eagles, and a match against Alabama State to wrap up pre-SoCon action.
The conference schedule begins with three of the first four matches played on the road, starting with the league opener against the 2023 regular-season champion, The Citadel, on Wednesday, Sept. 25, before opening the home slate on Friday, Sept. 27, against Mercer to close out the September calendar for WCU.
The month of October kicks off with a back-to-back road swing. The Catamounts head to Birmingham, Ala., on Friday, Oct. 4, to face off with Samford before returning to the Palmetto State the next day to battle the Furman Paladins. WCU returns home for consecutive contests with SoCon foes UNCG (Oct. 11) and Wofford (Oct. 12). The matchup with the Terriers will be part of a doubleheader with Catamount football squaring off against The Citadel on Heroes Day.
Western Carolina returns to the road to wrap up the first half of SoCon action with its Tennessee swing, battling Chattanooga (Oct. 18) and ETSU (Oct. 19) to close out the opening half of league action.
The Catamounts open the second half of the league slate with a home-heavy schedule. WCU battles The Citadel (Oct. 24) before hosting Samford (Oct. 31). A road trip to Mercer (Oct. 26) is sandwiched in between the home matchups with the two Bulldogs.
The final month sees the Catamounts open with a Homecoming Weekend matchup against Furman on Friday, Nov. 1. The final road swing has WCU travel to Wofford (Nov. 8) and UNCG (Nov. 9) before returning home for the final time in 2024 to battle ETSU on Thursday, Nov. 14 before celebrating Senior Night on Friday, Nov. 15 against Chattanooga.
The SoCon Tournament is scheduled for Nov. 22-24 at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C., moving to a neutral location to crown this season's champion and to deliver the league's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament field.
Western Carolina returns nine letterwinners from the 2023 squad including its top two offensive threats from a season ago in senior Bailey Hartsough (336 kills) and junior Ali Morris (308 kills). That offensive-minded duo is joined by 2023 SoCon All-Freshman team selection Logan Carr to lead the Catamounts into 2024.
Complete promotional and broadcast schedules will be announced in the coming weeks. Most home matches slated to be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available online 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).
| Aug. 30 |
vs College of Charleston |
Chapel Hill, N.C. |
C-of-C Leads 21-10 (L, 1-3 (10/22/11)) |
| Aug. 31 |
vs Cleveland State |
Chapel Hill, N.C. |
Never Played |
| Sept. 1 |
at North Carolina |
Chapel Hill, N.C. |
UNC Leads 1-0 (W, 2-1(9/25/82)) |
| Sept. 6 |
vs Texas A&M-Commerce |
Greenville, N.C. |
Never Played |
| |
vs N.C. A&T |
Greenville, N.C. |
WCU Leads 10-0 (W, 3-2 (9/20/19)) |
| Sept. 7 |
at East Carolina |
Greenville, N.C. |
WCU Leads 5-1 (W, 3-1 (9/12/15)) |
| Sept. 10 |
at UNC Asheville |
Asheville, N.C. |
WCU Leads 29-25 (W, 3-0 (9/5/23)) |
| Sept. 13 |
vs N.C. Central |
Buies Creek, N.C. |
WCU Leads 4-0 (W, 3-1 (9/9/23)) |
| Sept. 14 |
vs American |
Buies Creek, N.C. |
AU Leads 1-0 (L, 0-3 (9/7/01)) |
| |
at Campbell |
Buies Creek, N.C. |
WCU Leads 6-1 (W, 3-2 (9/8/12)) |
| Sept. 20 |
vs Winthrop |
Statesboro, Ga. |
WIN Leads 11-2 (L, 0-3 (9/13/16)) |
| |
at Georgia Southern |
Statesboro, Ga. |
Ga. Southern Leads 23-18 (L, 2-3 (11/3/12) |
| Sept. 21 |
vs Alabama State |
Statesboro, Ga. |
WCU Leads 3-1 (W, 3-0 (9/6/19)) |
Sept. 25
Oct. 24 |
at The Citadel
vs The Citadel |
Charleston, S.C.
Cullowhee, N.C. |
WCU Leads 37-11 (W, 3-2 (10/28/23)) |
Sept. 27
Oct. 26 |
vs Mercer
at Mercer |
Cullowhee, N.C.
Macon, Ga. |
WCU Leads 23-14 (W, 3-2 (10/26/23)) |
Oct. 4
Oct. 31 |
at Samford
vs Samford |
Birmingham, Ala.
Cullowhee, N.C. |
SAM Leads 32-9 (L, 2-3 (11/4/23)) |
Oct. 5
Nov. 1 |
at Furman
vs Furman |
Greenville, S.C.
Cullowhee, N.C. |
FUR Leads 49-38 (L, 1-3 (10/20/23)) |
Oct. 11
Nov. 9 |
vs UNCG
at UNCG |
Cullowhee, N.C.
Greensboro, N.C. |
WCU Leads 35-27 (W, 3-0 (11/11/23)) |
Oct. 12
Nov. 8 |
vs Wofford
at Wofford |
Cullowhee, N.C.
Spartanburg, S.C. |
WCU Leads 28-24 (L, 2-3 (11/17/23)) |
Oct. 18
Nov. 15 |
at Chattanooga
vs Chattanooga |
Chattanooga, Tenn.
Cullowhee, N.C. |
WCU Leads 51-42 (W, 3-0 (11/3/23)) |
Oct. 19
Nov. 14 |
at ETSU
vs ETSU |
Johnson City, Tenn.
Cullowhee, N.C. |
WCU Leads 47-45 (L, 1-3 (10/21/23)) |
