GREENVILLE, N.C. – Western Carolina volleyball began its second weekend of tournament action with a four-set victory over Texas A&M-Commerce on Friday morning before falling in four to North Carolina A&T in its first two matches of the Pirate Invitational. WCU faces directional rival and tournament host East Carolina on Saturday inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
Offensive efficiency, including a season-high attack percentage and four players posting double-doubles, guided the Catamounts to victory in their tourney opener. Despite a trio of double-doubles in the afternoon match, WCU could not carry the morning momentum in the close loss in the event's middle match.
With her 32 kills in Friday's action, Catamount senior Bailey Hartsough moved into the top 20 in the program's career record book. The LaGrange, Ind. native now sits in 20th place with 898 kills over her three-plus seasons with the Purple & Gold.
Western Carolina 3, Texas A&M-Commerce 1 (25-22, 25-14, 23-25, 25-21)
Western Carolina senior Bailey Hartsough and junior Ali Morris tied for the match-high 19 kills as the duo paced four Catamounts with double-double efforts as WCU scored its first victory of the season in the first-ever meeting with Texas A&M-Commerce, 3-1.
Morris had a team-high 22 digs and Hartsough added 21 digs to her stat line to mark two of the quad double-dips. Setters senior Sarah Janourova posted her second double-double of the year with 27 assists and 11 digs, while sophomore Katie Boney handed out 21 helpers to accompany a dozen digs in her first double-double effort. Friday's opener marked the first time four or more Catamounts have had double-doubles in the same match since the same quartet reached that mark against UConn last August.
Also for the Catamounts, junior Samantha Jo Mikosky added six kills, five digs, and a season-high six blocks, and sophomore Zoe Zudans added six kills.
With their 20-plus digs apiece, Morris and Hartsough became the first Catamount duo to eclipse that mark since Hartsough (20) and Janourova (20) both reached that mark last October against Furman. Janourova and Boney simultaneously eclipsed 20 assists for the first time since the same duo reached that mark last September against Green Bay.
Avery Wilks led the Lions on the offensive end of the court with 14 kills and five digs, while Reese Fetty added 11 kills and nine digs with a pair of service aces. Ellie Baumert totaled 34 kills, along with seven digs and three aces. Jade Smith led Texas A&M-Commerce with 24 digs, and Millie Allgood finished with 19 digs on the defensive side of the court.
A&M-Commerce used an early start to jump out to a 6-3 lead in the first set on Friday before the Catamounts answered with eight of the next 13 points to even the opener at 11. The two teams traded mini-bursts before the Lions pushed in front 16-14 before WCU answered with a 5-1 spurt to take a 19-17 lead and force a timeout from the Lions. Texas A&M-Commerce scored the next three points to regain the lead and force a Catamount stoppage in a set that featured no lead larger than two points. WCU had the final say in the set with five of the final seven points to claim the set 25-22.
The Lions started fast with a 6-3 burst to gain the early edge for a second straight set before a 9-2 run from WCU gave the Catamounts a 12-8 lead and forced a Texas A&M-Commerce timeout. The Catamounts continued to flex their muscles as six of the following eight points went to WCU to make it an eight-point lead, 18-10. The Lions pushed across a pair of points to cut it to six, but WCU closed with six of the final seven points to claim set two by the score of 25-14.
In a third set that saw 13 ties, the Lions opened a narrow three-point lead at 10-7 before WCU responded with a 7-2 run that pushed the lead to 14-12 at the set's midpoint. A&M-Commerce pushed back with an 8-5 run of its own to take a one-point lead, 20-19 late in the critical set. WCU later evened the set at 22 before three of the final four points were scored by the Lions to give them a set three win, 25-22.
Tied at seven in the fourth set, WCU responded with the next three points of the match to make it 10-7 affair and force a Lions timeout. The Catamounts were quick out of the stoppage with four of the following five points to extend the lead to six, 14-8. Texas A&M-Commerce cut the deficit to two, 15-13, with five of the following six points. Western Carolina responded with a 5-2 burst to be the first team to 20 at 20-15. After the Lions cut the deficit to one, WCU closed out the set and match on a 4-1 burst in the winning effort.
N.C. A&T 3, Western Carolina 1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-19, 25-22)
Ali Morris and Bailey Hartsough did it again in Friday's second match, combining for two of Western Carolina volleyball's three double-doubles but the Catamounts were tripped up in four. Morris had 15 kills and 12 digs to lead the Catamounts on the offensive end. Hartsough did it on the defensive side of the court with a career-high 26 digs and finished with 13 kills to her stat line.
Sarah Janourova grabbed her third double-double of the season as she paced WCU with 33 assists and 14 digs. Eda Yalcinkaya had a career-high of 21 digs as freshman Halley Tang added a career-high of 11. Blue did it on both ends in the match with six kills and added five rejections to pace all players in the match.
Tyne Ross led the Aggies with a match-high 21 kills as Hannah Howell added 15 and Maya Johnson totaled 11 kills for A&T. Leonor Polezzi finished with a match-best 52 assists and 19 digs for the double-double as Howell added 22 digs for a double-double. Valeria Estrada had a team-high 27 digs for the Aggies.
The two squads traded early runs with three ties before the Aggies jumped to a 6-4 lead, which was negated by four straight from the Catamounts that put the Purple & Gold on top. N.C. A&T responded with a 7-2 run of its own to push in front by three, 13-10, at the midpoint of the opening set. The Catamounts continued to claw for every point in the set as an 8-3 run saw WCU regain the lead at 18-16. N.C. A&T, however, had the final burst of the set with a 9-3 run of its own to claim the set 25-21.
A&T opened the second set fast with five of the opening seven points for a 5-2 burst out of the chutes to gain the early advantage. The Catamounts responded, cutting the deficit to one, 8-7, before three unanswered from A&T made it 11-7 in the set. The two teams then traded runs – and timeouts. A&T recovered from a four-point burst by the Catamounts making it 23-20 late, but the Catamounts had the final say in the second set with a 6-1 close to grab a 26-24 set two win.
Coming off a strong second set, WCU opened on a 5-2 run in the third to claim the early edge. A&T countered with an 8-3 burst that forced a Western Carolina timeout. The Aggies continued to keep WCU at bay with a lead of at least two until the Catamounts cut the deficit to 17-15 just past the set's halfway point. Western Carolina got the score to a 19-17 deficit before a 6-2 run from N.C. A&T gave them a 25-19 set three win and a 2-1 lead in Friday's match.
The two teams remained tight to open the fourth set as a pair of ties were sandwiched around bursts from both squads. WCU created separation with a 5-1 run to jump to a 12-8 lead and force the Aggies to use an early timeout. N.C. A&T responded with a 7-3 spurt of its own, which evened the set at 15. The Catamounts jumped out to a three-point lead on multiple occasions, with the last coming at 21-18 before the Aggies pushed seven of the final eight points of the set to claim the match in four sets.
The Catamounts close their weekend at the Pirate Invitational hosting ECU on Saturday, September 7, with a 3 p.m. first serve from Greenville. The matchup against ECU will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), and live stats will be available on CatamountSports.com.
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