Statesboro, Ga. – Western Carolina volleyball opened Friday's doubleheader by extending its win streak to four straight in a three-set victory over Winthrop at Georgia Southern's Bash in the Boro tournament. The Catamounts were unable extend the streak as the host Eagles downed WCU in straight sets. Both matches took place at Hanner Fieldhouse.
Western Carolina 3, Winthrop 0 (25-18, 25-21,25-17)
Junior Ali Morris led the offensive attack for the Catamounts with 14 kills on 22 swings for a .591 hitting percentage and added six digs. Senior Bailey Hartsough added her seventh double-double of the season with 10 kills and a team-high 12 digs while junior Samantha Jo Mikosky had her best hitting performance to date for WCU, totaling seven kills on 14 error-free swings. She also added seven blocks and four digs on the defensive end of the court.
Sophomore Logan Carr charted seven kills on 11 attacks for a .545 hitting percentage while reigning SoCon Defensive Player of the Week junior Janelle Blue hit .625 with five kills as she joined Carr with three blocks. Senior Sarah Janourova dished out a match-high 19 assists, while sophomore setter Katie Boney finished with 18 helpers.
WCU posted a hitting percentage of .426 on Friday morning, totaling 49 kills with just six attack errors. It marks the highest hitting percentage by a Catamount team since the season-opening weekend in 2022 when Western Carolina finished 48 kills and a .419 hitting percentage in a sweep of NCCU.
Karli Shepherd led Winthrop with 12 kills as she also picked up six digs and Giselle Little had seven kills. Isabella Murray dished out 33 assists and Rylie McMahen paced the defensive side of the court with 11 digs.
The opening of the match featured a pair of early ties as the two teams traded bursts before a pair of Catamount kills stretched it to 7-5. The Eagles responded with the following four points before Western Carolina answered with a 10-1 explosion to seize control with a 17-10 lead. The two teams traded points before a pair of kills from the Eagles cut the margin to five, 20-15, before WCU kept its margin and scored five of the final eight to take the early lead in the match, 25-18.
Western Carolina answered a 3-1 burst with a run of 6-1 to take an early 7-4 lead over the Eagles in the second set. Following a quick 4-2 run from the Eagles, WCU regained control of the set with a 6-1 answer to take a 15-9 lead at the halfway point of set two after the Eagles cut the deficit to three on a pair of occasions with the last coming at 22-19 before the Catamounts scored three of the final five to take set two 25-21.
The third set remained tight with nine ties in the opening stages before a 6-2 run from WCU gave the Catamounts a 15-11 lead. Winthrop (2-6) whittled the deficit down to two, 16-14, but WCU closed on a 9-3 run, including the game's final four points, to win in straight sets.
Georgia Southern 3, Western Carolina 0 (25-9, 25-23, 25-19)
Sarah Janourova grabbed her team-high eighth double-double of the season with 15 assists and 10 digs to lead the Catamounts in Friday night's action against the event hosts. However, Georgia Southern rode early momentum to down the Catamounts in three.
Hartsough added 10 digs, seven kills, and a pair of blocks while Carr posted six kills. Blue finished with five kills and a team-high in blocks and six more rejections in the match. Sophomore Eda Yalçinkaya had 10 digs as Morris added seven for the Catamounts on the defensive end.
Reagan Barth led all players on Friday night with 18 kills as part of a double-double effort with 10 digs and a trio of blocks. Jillian Gray had 11 kills and eight digs for the hosts. Kirsten Barrett totaled 36 assists and seven digs along with three kills. Ashlyn Lovett had 30 digs to pace GSU on the defensive end of the court as Lydia Seymour had a team-high five blocks.
Georgia Southern (9-1) opened fast in the first set with a 6-2 run out of the gates to gain the early lead before WCU scored the next two points to whittle away at the deficit. The Eagles then scored six of the following seven points to push out to a 12-5 lead and force a Catamount timeout. WCU cut the deficit to eight, 15-7, before a 10-2 run from the Eagles allowed the hosts to take the opening set of Friday night's action.
The two teams saw seven ties in the early going before the Eagles scored four straight points to make it 12-8 in the second set and force a WCU timeout. The Catamounts answered out of the break with a 9-3 run to take a 17-15 lead late in the set. The two teams battled down the stretch as the Eagles 6-3 edge pushed them back in front 21-20 late before WCU evened things at 23. GSU scored the final two points to claim a tight 25-23 second set win.
Georgia Southern began the third set with the first five points and a 7-2 run out of the gates to take the early advantage. The hosts pushed their lead to eight, 12-4, before WCU clawed back with an 8-3 burst to cut the deficit to three, 15-12 and force a Georgia Southern timeout. The Eagles extended the lead to five, 20-15, scoring five of the following eight points, forcing a WCU timeout. WCU managed to cut it to a three-point score at 21-18 before the hosts scored four of the last five points to win the match in three sets.
Western Carolina (5-7) closes out nonconference play on Saturday morning with a 10 a.m. first serve against Alabama State from Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro. The matchup with the Hornets will have live stats available on CatamountSports.com.
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