Johnson City, Tenn. – Western Carolina volleyball dropped a straight-set Southern Conference road match to East Tennessee State on Saturday afternoon in Brooks Gymnasium to open November's schedule.
 
Freshman Samantha Kranzler led the Catamount offense with seven kills to go along with three assists, two blocks, and 11 digs. Sophomore Courtney Graham grabbed six kills to accompany a team-best four blocks.

Junior Katie Boney handed out 21 assists and recorded nine digs and a pair of kills. On the defensive end, sophomore Halley Tang added 14 digs, followed by Kranzler's 11. Sophomore Meleah Foster had three blocks for the Catamounts, paired with the four stops by Graham.

Makayla Bays led all players with 15 kills as she hit at a .407 clip and added seven digs and two blocks to her stat line in the win. Brianna Cantrell added nine kills and nine digs for the Bucs. Alex Kreutzmann finished with a team-best 19 assists, followed by 18 helpers from Bailey Gohlke, and Kreutzmann tallied eight digs. Cantrell and Melanie Morris led ETSU with nine digs each, followed by the eight from Kreutzmann, as Whitley Rammel had a match-best five rejections.

ETSU used a fast start to jump to an early 12-3 lead in the first set, forcing WCU to take a timeout. The Catamounts battled back with an 11-3 run after the stoppage to cut the deficit down to two, 18-16. However, the Bucs finished with a 7-2 burst down the stretch to claim the opening set, 25-18.

The second set featured four early ties before five unanswered points gave the homestanding Bucs an 11-6 lead. After a called timeout, the Catamounts went on the offensive with an 11-4 run to regain control of the set at 17-15 just past the midpoint of the stanza. The hosts answered, however, outpacing the Catamounts 8-4 down the stretch before WCU managed to tie the set at 24. The Bucs broke the deadlock with two late kills to take the set 26-24 for the 2-0 lead in the match.

ETSU used a fast start, sprinting out to an 8-3 lead followed by a 6-1 run, to seize control of the set at 16-6, which forced WCU to use both timeouts. The Catamounts were unable to cut the deficit closer than nine points at 17-8, as the Bucs closed with an 8-3 push to take the match in straight sets with a 25-11 set three win.

Western Carolina (7-16, 3-9 SoCon) wraps up a four-match road swing as the Catamounts travel to Birmingham, Ala., on Thursday, Nov. 6, to face Samford before meeting Chattanooga the next night. Thursday's action with Samford is slated for a 7:30 p.m. EST start, followed by a 6 p.m. first serve from Chattanooga.

Both matches with the Bulldogs and Mocs are scheduled for ESPN+ (paid subscription required), and both contests will feature live stats available on CatamountSports.com.

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