Greensboro, N.C. – Western Carolina volleyball opened a four-match road swing on the wrong end of a Friday night 3-0 Southern Conference defeat at the hands of UNCG, at Fleming Gymnasium.

The freshman duo of Tatum Sharp and Samantha Kranzler led the Catamount offensive attack with nine kills apiece, followed by classmate Abbie Willis with eight. Sophomore Courtney Graham and senior Janelle Blue both finished with seven kills for WCU. Junior Katie Boney led the way with 34 assists for the Purple & Gold.

On the defensive end, sophomore Halley Tang had a team-best 17 digs, serving as the Catamount libero, followed by junior Eda Yalçinkaya with 11 digs. Blue had a team-best four blocks, followed by Sharp with three stops and Graham with a pair of rejections.

McKenna Timmerman led all players on Friday for UNCG with 14 kills, hitting at a .414 clip, and Allie Sweet tallied a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs. Connore' Siler-Nixon finished with 10 kills, and Robbin Rosser added eight kills. Gabby Seeds dished out 37 assists, while Chloe Nussbaum led the way on the defensive end with 17 digs, as Sweet and Elenoa Sing had a team-best three blocks.

The opening set was tight early, as neither team found much footing, until a 4-2 spurt from WCU gave the Catamounts a 12-8 lead. The Spartans answered with a 10-4 burst of their own to take an 18-16 lead as the opening set went down the stretch. The Catamounts battled back to a one-point deficit, 21-20, but the hosts closed with four of the last five points to take the set 25-21.

The Spartans rode the momentum into the second set, racing out to a 10-4 lead over the visitors. WCU pushed back with seven of the next 11 points to whittle the deficit to three, 14-11, before a 6-2 run from UNCG made it 20-13 Spartans, forcing a Catamount timeout. Both squads traded spurts down the stretch before the hosts claimed a 25-18 second-set victory.

The opening of the third set featured nine ties in the first half, as neither team gained a significant advantage. WCU scored three of the final four points before the media timeout to take a 15-13 lead. The Catamounts pushed their advantage to three, 19-16, before a 6-2 run from the hosts allowed the Spartans to take a 22-21 lead late in the stanza. The finish of the set went back-and-forth before UNCG scored three of the final four points to take a 28-26 set three sweep.

Western Carolina (7-15, 3-8 SoCon) opens the month of November on Saturday, traveling to mountain-rival ETSU for an afternoon showdown. The first serve against the Bucs is slated for 3 p.m. The match with ETSU is scheduled for ESPN+ (paid subscription required) and will feature live stats available on CatamountSports.com.

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