Cullowhee, N.C. – Behind a season-high .371 attack percentage, Western Carolina volleyball rolled to a straight-set Southern Conference victory over The Citadel on Friday night at Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. The Catamounts earned the decisive decision by scores of 25-13, 25-16, 25-20.
Friday marks the first time since 2022 that either squad has earned the sweep of the season series.
Freshman Tatum Sharp put together another strong offensive showing with a 12-kill performance, hitting an eye-popping .647 to pace the attack for WCU. Classmate Samantha Kranzler added 10 kills and seven digs as she hit .346. Senior Janelle Blue added nine kills, followed by sophomore Courtney Graham with six.
Junior Katie Boney tallied a match-high 34 assists to go along with eight digs and three service aces. On the defensive end, sophomore Halley Tang finished with 17 digs to lead all players in Friday's action. Graham added five blocks, including a pair of solo stops, while Blue and Sharp each had three rejections apiece.
Rachel Reininger led the Bulldogs with nine kills, followed by Jordyn Sims with seven, and Luci Lippelgoos, who finished with six kills. Lydia Larson paced The Citadel with 23 assists. Mia Watson had a team-best eight digs, and Lippelgoos led the Bulldogs' block with five stops, and Savannah Freeman led with three blocks.
The Catamounts wasted no time in the opening set with an 11-4 run out of the gates to seize early control of the matchup. WCU continued to put the pressure on the guests with another 8-3 burst and were able to keep the distance in the stanza and take the set 25-13 to take a 1-0 lead.
The second stanza was tight early as neither team gained more than a three-point lead before six unanswered points from the Catamounts saw the advantage swell to 18-11 just past the midpoint. The Citadel was only able to get it to seven before back-to-back Sharp kills gave the hosts a 25-16 set two victory.
The third set started tight for both squads before a 5-1 run from the hosts allowed the Purple & Gold to take a 13-8 lead at the midpoint. The Bulldogs responded with eight unanswered points to take a three-point lead, 16-13. In a set of runs, WCU scored the following seven points to flip the scoreboard at 20-16. After a back-and-forth battle, the Catamounts closed with three straight points to complete the sweep.
Western Carolina (7-14, 3-7 SoCon) opens a four-match road swing with a Halloween night matchup in the Gate City against UNCG before traveling to Johnson City the next night to battle mountain-rival ETSU. Friday's matchup in Greensboro is slated for a 6 p.m. start, followed by a 3 p.m. first serve against the Bucs.
Both matches with the Spartans and Bucs 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).
