Cullowhee, N.C. – Coming off a Campbell Invitational tournament title, Western Carolina volleyball looks to continue its winning ways in its final nonconference action beginning Friday as its marathon road swing hits the home stretch as the Catamounts compete in the 'Bash in the Boro,' hosted by Georgia Southern at Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro, Ga.
WCU begins the weekend with a doubleheader on Friday at 10 a.m. against Winthrop before battling the host Eagles at 6:30 p.m. The nonconference slate closes with a 10 a.m. first serve on Saturday against Alabama State. The matchup against the Eagles on Friday night will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required). Live stats for all three matches will be available on CatamountSports.com.
Match One: Western Carolina (4-6) vs Winthrop (2-5)
Date: Friday, Sept. 20
Time: 10 a.m.
Site: Hanner Fieldhouse (Statesboro, Ga.)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Twitter: @CatamountVB
Match Two: Western Carolina at Georgia Southern (7-1)
Date: Friday, Sept. 20
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Site: Hanner Fieldhouse (Statesboro, Ga.)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Live Video: ESPN+
Twitter: @CatamountVB
Match Three: Western Carolina vs Alabama State (3-7)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 21
Time: 10 a.m.
Site: Hanner Fieldhouse (Statesboro, Ga.)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Twitter: @CatamountVB
Back to Serve:
Western Carolina volleyball closes its nonconference play and the final stretch of its season-opening 14-match road swing on Friday, making the trip to Statesboro for the 'Bash in the Boro'. WCU will battle the host Eagles and Winthrop & Alabama State over a three-match, two-day event.
Senior Bailey Hartsough paced the Western Carolina offense as the Catamounts collected a straight-set win over NC Central before downing American in five sets and host Campbell in four sets over a two-day stretch to claim the Campbell Invitational crown last the weekend. Hartsough led the Catamounts offense with 42 kills as she tallied 11-plus kills in all three wins and had double-doubles in two of the three matches. Both junior Ali Morris & sophomore Logan Carr tallied 31 kills as junior Janelle Blue added 22 to the offensive attack.
Senior Sarah Janourova filled the assist column throughout the weekend with 71 helpers, and sophomore Katie Boney added 52 assists. Janourova eclipsed 20 assists in all three matches as the Prague, Czech Republic native tallied three double-doubles on the weekend. On the defensive side, Eda Yalçinkaya recorded a team-high 47 digs. Blue finished with a team-best 27 blocks, including a career-high 14 rejections in the five-set victory over American on Saturday. Junior Samantha Jo Mikosky tallied 19 blocks and 27 stops from Blue.
Catamount junior middle blocker/right-side hitter Janelle Blue was named The Southern Conference Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week as she anchored the defensive attack by totaling 29 blocks and 30 kills on a .397 attack percentage on the weekend. Blue secured a career-high 14 blocks in a five-set win over American as part of WCU's perfect weekend at Campbell. The Clover, S.C., native earned her first career weekly honor after leading the defensive attack in wins over NC Central, American, and Campbell to help claim the Campbell Invitational title.
Catamount Career Record Watch:
Senior Sarah Janourova (1,857 ast, 856 digs, 85 aces):
The Prague, Czech Republic native continues the 2024 campaign needing just 143 assists to become the 11th player in program history to surpass the 2,000 helper mark ... Janourova is looking to become the first Catamount to eclipse 2,000 career assists since Hannah Price (2017-20) who totaled 2,324 assists in her time at WCU ... Janourova finished 2023 fifth in the SoCon with 731 assists to pace the Catamounts ... She also sits within striking distance of the 1,000 dig plateau needing 144 of those to surpass that mark ... Janourova also needs just 15 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 (959 kills, 904 digs, 89 aces):
Hartsough opened her final season in Cullowhee looking to eclipse numerous milestones as she now needs just 41 kills to become the 16th Catamount in program history to surpass 1,000 career kills ... She would become the first student-athlete for WCU to eclipse 1,000 kills since Merry Gebel (2018-22) moved all the way up to the No. 2 spot in career kills with 1,693 ... A product of LaGrange, Ind., Hartsough currently sits with 904 career digs, needing just 96 to climb to the 1,000 dig mark for WCU ... Hartsough needs 11 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.
SCOUTING THE FIELD:
Winthrop (2-5 in 2024) (14-14, 12-2 Big South in 2023) – RPI 175 in 2023
Friday's opener from Statesboro sees WCU battle Big South foe Winthrop at 10 a.m. The two meet for the 14th time in program history – and the for first time since 2016. Winthrop has taken the past four head-to-head meetings with two at Rock Hill and a pair of neutral site matchups between the two programs.
Winthrop enters the weekend with a 2-5 record after falling in straight sets to SoCon foe Wofford and Appalachian State, before dropping a four-set match to Clemson last weekend. The Eagles added a win against ACC foe Virginia Tech in the early season. Winthrop finished 2023 at 14-14, including a 12-2 record in the Big South as the Eagles advanced to the National Invitational Championship (NIVC) opening round before falling in five sets to this weekend's host Georgia Southern.
Junior Avery Jolley leads a balanced attack for the Eagles on the offensive end, totaling 65 kills as she's eclipsed 10 kills in three matches as freshman Paige Bennett has 64 kills in her debut season in Rock Hill. Redshirt sophomore Rachel McCollum had 49 kills and was tied for second on the team with 59 digs on the defensive end. Redshirt junior Isabella Murray leads the Eagles with 232 assists, which ranks third in the Big South, as Murray has already garnered a Big South Setter of the Week honor in the early 2024 season. On the defensive side of the court, freshman Sophia Matthews has a team-high 81 digs as McCollum and Murray each have 59 digs. McCollum also leads Winthrop with 15 blocks in its opening seven matches.
Under the direction of third-year head coach Heather Gearhart, the Eagles were picked second in the eight-team Big South Preseason Poll. Jolley, who leads the offensive attack, was also named to the league's Preseason All-Conference team.
Georgia Southern (7-1 in 2024) (23-9, 10-6 SBC in 2023) – RPI 85
Friday's nightcap features Sun Belt opponent and event host Georgia Southern. The two former Southern Confernece foes meet for the 44th time overall, but for the first time since 2013. In a series that has been dormant for the past 11 seasons, WCU looks to snap an 11-game skid against the Eagles and tally its first win in the series since a five-set win in Statesboro back in 2006.
Georgia Southern holds a 7-1 record to begin the 2024 season as the Eagles have earned wins in their past six matches with a 5-0 mark in Statesboro. GSU picked up wins last weekend over N.C. A&T, Charleston Southern, and SoCon foe Furman with a win the weekend prior over Clemson. The Eagles lone loss was to Auburn, which is also 7-1 and receiving votes in the most recent AVCA Poll. Georgia Southern finished 2023 with a 23-9 record, including a 10-6 record in the Sun Belt, before falling in the third round of the 2023 NIVC. Chad Willis leads the Eagles in his sixth season at the helm, totaling 75 wins thus far in Statesboro.
The Eagles have been led thus far in 2024 on the offensive end of the court by senior Jillian Gray, who's totaled 101 kills in eight matches, highlighted by 23 kills in their win over Clemson. Sophomore Reagan Barth has 86 kills and senior Paige Powers recorded 63 for GSU. Junior Kirsten Barrett leads the Eagles in the assist column with 268 helpers as she's eclipsed 30 six times in 2024. Barrett has been named the Sun Belt Setter of the Week on a pair of occasions in 2024. Senior Ashlyn Lovett leads the Eagles on the defensive end with 158 digs as she's garnered a pair of defensive player of the week selections from the league. Redshirt sophomore Maggie Sale has a team-high 18 blocks.
The Eagles were picked third in the East Division and fifth overall in the Sun Belt in the league's Preseason Poll. Reagan Barth was the lone Georgia Southern representative named to the league's preseason all-conference team.
Alabama State (3-7 in 2024) (18-13, 16-0 SWAC in 2023) – RPI 230
Western Carolina closes out nonconference play on Saturday morning, battling SWAC foe Alabama State for the first time since 2019 when the Catamounts downed the Hornets 3-0 in a neutral-site bout. WCU holds a 3-1 record head-to-head over Alabama State with Saturday marking the fourth time out of five that the two schools have met in a neutral-site location.
Alabama State holds a 3-7 record, opening 2024 with wins over ULM, S.C. State, and Nicholls State before dropping their last seven, including matchups with power four opponents Arizona, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia Tech. The Hornets finished with an 18-13 mark in 2023, including an unblemished record in SWAC play, winning all 16 league matchups.
The Hornets have been led offensively by a trio of players with 50-plus kills, led by graduate student A'Nylah Cobb with 65 kills, as classmate Zanobia Willis has 62 kills for Alabama State. Sophomore Kaylen Hines has 53 kills to round out the offensive trio for the Hornets. Freshman Kamrynn Clay has a team-high 147 assists, followed by junior Sierra Scanlan with 115 helpers. Senior Temperance Chatman leads the Hornets with 92 digs, as Willis has a team-high 27 blocks.
Alabama State was picked third in the SWAC preseason poll as the Hornets received three first-place votes under the direction of Penny Lucas-White, who's in her 13th year in Montgomery. Chatman was named to the league's all-conference team and tabbed as the league's Libero of the Year before the start of the 2024 season.
Following Saturday's finale with Alabama State, the Catamounts open conference play on Wednesday, Sept. 25, at 6 p.m. against The Citadel in Charleston. WCU follows up the Wednesday night tilt with its 2024 home opener on Friday, Sept. 27, at 12:30 p.m. against Mercer. Both matchups will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), and live stats will be available on CatamountSports.com.
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