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Schedule

Full
Abbie Willis vs CofC
Roman Uglehus, WCU Athletics
0
Western Caro. WCU 6-13,2-6 SoCon
3
Winner Furman Furman 14-6,5-3 SoCon
Western Caro. WCU
6-13,2-6 SoCon
0
Final
3
Furman Furman
14-6,5-3 SoCon
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Western Caro. WCU 21 19 18 (0)
Furman Furman 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Willis Tallies Career-Best in Defeat at Furman

Yalçinkaya Reached 1,000 Career Digs on Saturday

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Freshman Abbie Willis put together her best offensive performance of the season with a career day as Western Carolina volleyball dropped a straight-set decision to chromatic rival Furman on Saturday afternoon at Alley Gymnasium to close out the first half of league play. Furman won the match 25-21, 25-19, 25-18 to earn the decision in Greenville.

Willis had her best offensive output of the season with 10 kills to go along with a career-high four digs and a pair of blocks for the Punta Gorda, Fla. native. Senior Janelle Blue tallied seven kills along with five digs and a pair of blocks. Junior Zoe Zudans added six kills, followed by freshman Tatum Sharp with five kills.

Junior Katie Boney picked up her eighth double-double of the season with 29 assists and 10 digs as she eclipsed 700 assists for the season. Classmate Eda Yalçinkaya led the Catamounts with 12 digs, eclipsing 1000 career digs on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Halley Tang grabbed 11 digs for WCU. Sophomore Courtney Graham led WCU with four blocks as Sharp added three rejections.

Lindsay Walch paced the Paladins with 10 kills along with four assists, four digs, three service aces, and three blocks. Tennyson Gorman grabbed nine kills to go along with four blocks to lead Furman. Ashtan Dodson added eight kills along with nine digs. Emily Navarro totaled 27 assists to lead the Paladins, as Eva Wheeler had eight helpers. On the defensive end, Ashley Stein had a match-high 24 digs.

Furman jumped out of the gates with an 8-3 run in the early stages of the match, which was met by a 6-2 burst by the Catamounts to tighten the opening set. The hosts were able to push the lead to five, 17-12, with a 7-3 burst before the Catamounts quickly cut the deficit to two with a pair of kills from Willis, along with a block from Blue and Sharp. Furman continued to push the lead to three points, but the Catamounts answered the bell before the hosts closed out a 25-21 set victory.

The hosts opened the second set fast with a 9-4 burst to gain the early advantage before the Catamounts whittled the deficit to three, 10-7. The Paladins scored six straight to take a nine-point lead, 16-7, just past the midpoint of the stanza. WCU went to work with a 9-3 run down the stretch to cut the Paladins' lead down to three, 19-16, but Furman closed with six of the final nine points to take the second set 25-19.

The two teams were unable to create separation before the Paladins used a quick 5-1 burst to make it 13-8 and force a WCU timeout. The Catamounts cut it to a four-point score before the Paladins quickly stretched it to a 19-11 lead. WCU used a 7-2 burst to cut it to a three-point deficit at 21-18 before four straight from Furman secured a straight-set decision.

Western Carolina (6-13, 2-6 SoCon) returns home for the second-to-last time in 2025 with a visit from Wofford on Thursday, Oct. 23, before hosting The Citadel the next night to open the second half of Southern Conference action. Both matches are slated for a 6 p.m. first serve from Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.

Thursday's meeting with Wofford will be Purple Out & Volleywood Night. Friday's matchup with the Bulldogs will be the HalloWHEEn match. Both matches with the Terriers and the Bulldogs are scheduled for ESPN+ (paid subscription required), and both contests will feature live stats available on 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).
 
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