Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina's 2025 volleyball season preview through CatamountSports.com continues with a look at a quartet of outside hitters that will be leaned upon this season, led by a tandem of a rising junior and a rising sophomore, who are joined by a pair of newcomers to #CatamountCountry this fall.
The Catamounts' offensive unit looks to rising junior Zoe Zudans, along with sophomore Peri Subat, who return looking to fill the production void created by the departure of four-year standout Bailey Hartsough, who graduated. Hartsough became the 16th player in program history to eclipse the 1,000 career kill plateau, and is the 13th Catamount in school history to surpass both 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career.
WCU's returning outside hitting duo is joined by freshmen Abbie Willis (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) and Samantha Kranzler (Norwood, N.J./Northern Valley HS). Both Subat and Willis could see time on the right side of the Catamount offense throughout the 2025 season.
Zudans, WCU's lone upperclassman among outside hitters, is the top returner for the Catamounts in 2025, recording 177 kills a season ago. She notched seven matches with double-digit kills. The Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. native also added 75 digs and 23 blocks as she saw action in 28 matches with seven starts spanning 91 combined sets.
In her first full season of action, Zudans tallied a career-high 22 kills in a home matchup with chromatic rival Furman and picked up her first career double-double (13 kills and 14 digs) in WCU's home finale against Chattanooga. Of her seven matches with double-digit kills last season, Zudans had six matches with 10 or more against SoCon foes, including in the SoCon tournament against UNCG.
Peri Subat begins her second season in Cullowhee after her debut for the Catamounts a year ago, which saw her appear in 19 matches with four starts over 48 sets. She tallied 48 kills a season ago with a season-high seven against mountain rival ETSU in Johnson City. A product of Sheboygan Falls, Wis., Subat added 19 blocks, including a season-high three coming against The Citadel and ETSU in league action.
The first of two newcomers is Samantha Kranzler, who came to Cullowhee after a successful prep career at Old Tappan in her hometown of Norwood, N.J. As a senior, she totaled 294 kills, averaging 5.8 kills per set and a hitting percentage of .397. She also recorded over 200 service aces and over 170 digs defensively, and was named the North Jersey Girls Volleyball Player of the Year as a senior. She was part of helping the team post a 27-match win streak during her final season.
Kranzler also spent time on the Old Tappan track and field squad as a prep, where in the spring of the 2022 season, they won the Group 3 state title. She played volleyball with USANY VBC.
The second of the two freshmen amongst the outside hitters is Abbie Willis, who spent her prep career at Charlotte High out of Punta Gorda, Fla. She compiled a balanced stat sheet as a senior, totaling 588 kills and 94 blocks. She was named the Sun Preps Female Athlete of the Year and Beach Volleyball Player of the Year during her prep career.
Willis also garnered FACA District 18 6A Senior All-Star honors, and she was named All-Area in volleyball three times. She was named All-Area for both beach volleyball and basketball during her high school career. Willis played club volleyball at Performance Volleyball Academy.
Western Carolina continues its preparation for its lone exhibition match of 2025 as the Catamounts welcome in-state NCAA Division-II foe, UNC Pembroke, to Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center on Friday, Aug. 22, at 6 p.m. Admission to the exhibition and each home match throughout the season is free of charge, courtesy of First Bank.
Following its exhibition on Aug. 22, Western Carolina pulls the curtain back on the 2025 regular season on Aug. 29 in doubleheader action against Texas Tech and Kent State at Florida Atlantic's on-campus arena. The Catamounts and the host Owls battle the next afternoon to close out the opening weekend in Boca Raton, Fla.
All told, 12 of the squad's first 13 matches will be played away from the friendly confines of Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
WCU's 2025 position preview on CatamountSports.com continues with both the middle blockers and liberos in the coming weeks heading into the exhibition opening of the schedule.
2025 WCU Volleyball Position Previews:
Setters
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