Cullowhee, N.C. – Coming off a strong finish down the stretch in a five-set win over mountain-rival UNC Asheville on Tuesday night in its home opener, the Western Carolina volleyball team returns to the road beginning on Friday for the Noona Kennard Volleyball tournament, hosted by the University of North Alabama. The tournament will take place at the CB&S Bank Arena at Flowers Hall in Florence, Ala.
WCU begins the weekend on Friday with the first serve set for 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT against the host Lions, followed by a matchup against SEC foe Alabama the next afternoon, starting at 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT. Friday's match against the Lions will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live statistics available online via a link at CatamountSports.com for both matches in Alabama.
MATCH #1 PREVIEW: Western Carolina (4-3) at North Alabama (4-4)
Date: Friday, Sept. 12, 2025
Time: 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT
Site: CB&S Bank Arena at Flowers Hall (Florence, Ala.)
Live Video: ESPN+ (paid subscription required)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Twitter: @CatamountVB
TICKETS
MATCH #2 PREVIEW: Western Carolina vs Alabama (5-1)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025
Time: 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m.
Site: CB&S Bank Arena at Flowers Hall (Florence, Ala.)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Twitter: @CatamountVB
TICKETS
From the Service Line:
Western Carolina flexed its muscles down the stretch in Tuesday night's home opener, rallying from a 2-1 deficit with consecutive convincing set wins to secure the five-set victory over UNC Asheville on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. WCU won the match 25-20, 26-28, 18-25, 25-14, 15-8 to earn its second five-set win in the last three matches.
The Catamounts had another strong showing in the stat sheet in the win, led by a pair of freshmen in Tatum Sharp and Samantha Kranzler. Sharp tallied a career-high 16 kills with a .419 hitting percentage, while Kranzler totaled her third double-double of the year, finishing with 15 kills and 12 digs. Junior Zoe Zudans had 13 kills, followed by senior Janelle Blue with a dozen.
Two-time defending SoCon Setter of the Week Katie Boney finished the contest with a career-high 52 assists and 22 digs, setting career highs in both categories. She continued her torrid start to the 2025 season with her fourth double-double of the year and ranks in a tie for third in the country in assists (298) and 16th nationally in assists per set (10.64) while leading the SoCon in both categories.
On the defensive end, junior Eda Yalçinkaya finished with 21 digs and six assists as Boney and Yalçinkaya were joined in double digits in digs by Kranzler (12) and sophomore Halley Tang (10). Sophomore Courtney Graham finished with a career-high tying seven blocks and added seven kills on the offensive end.
As a team, WCU leads the SoCon in kills (369), ranks first in kills per set (13.18), and third in hitting pct. (.200), first in assists (347), second in assists per set (12.39), tied for third in blocks (59), fourth in blocks per set (2.11), first in digs (440), third in digs per set (15.71), and third in service aces (36).
Individually, the Catamounts have a trio inside the top six in the conference in kills, led by league-leader Zudans (96), fourth-place Sharp (74), and sixth-place Kranzler (66). WCU is the only team in the league with three or more in the top 10 in the SoCon in kills. Yalçinkaya is second in the league in digs (126) as one of four in the league to have eclipsed 100 digs thus far. Along with a league lead in assists, Boney ranks in a tie for third in the conference in service aces with eight, followed closely by Kranzler and sophomore Halley Tang with seven apiece.
Catamount Career Record Watch:
Juniors Katie Boney and Eda Yalçinkaya both enter their third seasons in Cullowhee, looking to reach some statistical milestones. Both Boney and Yalçinkaya can achieve career benchmarks during the 2025 season.
Junior Katie Boney (1,123 Assists):
The Brookhaven, Ga., native continued her tremendous start to the 2025 season with seven straight matches surpassing 30 assists. She became the 17th player in program history to eclipse the 1,000 career assists mark during Saturday's thrilling five-set reverse sweep of Bradley.
Boney sits atop the Southern Conference in assists with 298 helpers, having already tallied four double-doubles on the year and averaging 10.64 assists per set. She has garnered back-to-back SoCon Setter of the Week honors for the first two times in her WCU career over the last two weeks. She looks to continue building off a solid sophomore campaign with a team-high 543 assists, which ranked ninth in the SoCon and is fourth among returning student-athletes in the league in terms of assists.
Junior Eda Yalçinkaya (854 Digs):
WCU's third-year libero began the 2025 season with a team-high 126 digs, ranking her second in the SoCon following the first seven matches of the season. She enters the weekend in Alabama needing just 146 digs to reach the 1,000-dig plateau. The Istanbul, Turkey native came off her sophomore season, where she totaled 404 digs to lead the squad and ranks fifth among returners for WCU on the defensive end of the court.
North Alabama (4-4 in 2025 – 15-15, 9-7 ASUN in 2024) – 2024 RPI 212
North Alabama (4-4) returns to the court after earning a 3-0 sweep on Tuesday over in-state and SoCon foe Samford, snapping a two-match skid that included losses to UAB and USC Upstate. The Lions earned early-season wins over Grambling, SEMO, and future SoCon opposition, Tennessee Tech, with a P4 loss against Mississippi State and a defeat to Alabama A&M.
North Alabama comes off a 2024 season with a 15-15 mark in 2024, including a 9-7 mark in the ASUN. The Lions are led by fourth-year head coach Tristan Johnson, who has tallied back-to-back 15+ win seasons after recording 17 wins in 2023.
With 107 kills and five-straight matches of 10 or more kills, junior outside hitter Kendall Barnes leads the Lions with a conference-high in kills, which ranks 12th in the nation. Sophomore outside hitter Reese Ricketts has 74 kills and 57 digs to help the UNA offensive lineup. Sophomore Kinslee McGowan sits in a tie for third nationally with Boney in assists with 298 helpers, including a season-high 49 against Alabama A&M.
Junior Ava Martindale leads the Lions on the defensive side of the court with 119 digs. Junior Jenna Kolosta leads North Alabama with 20 blocks, followed by sophomore Dylann Garner with 16 stops.
The Lions were picked in a three-way tie for fifth in the ASUN preseason poll, as UNA was picked with Jacksonville and North Florida. UNA and Western Carolina meet for the first time in the two schools' respective histories.
Alabama (5-1 in 2025 – 11-16, 3-13 in 2024) – 2024 RPI 301
Alabama and Western Carolina meet for the second time in the two schools' respective histories, as the only other matchup took place in 2021 in Tuscaloosa, where the Crimson Tide earned the 3-1 victory.
Alabama (5-1) picked up a nonconference win on Wednesday over Wake Forest in a five-set match. The Crimson Tide opened the season with wins over UNC Asheville, Jacksonville, UAB, and Chattanooga, with their lone blemish coming at the hands of Cincinnati.
The Crimson Tide looks to improve on an 11-16 mark in 2024, including a 3-13 record in SEC action. They are led by Rashinda Reed, who's in her fourth season at the helm after previous stops on staff at Illinois, UAB, Northeastern, Binghamton, and Southern Indiana as an assistant.
Graduate student Victoria Barrett leads the Crimson Tide with 89 kills, including a season-high 25 kills on Wednesday against Wake Forest. Barrett has picked up back-to-back double-doubles for Alabama as she comes to Tuscaloosa after transferring from Towson.
Senior Sophie Agee has 66 kills, including a pair of 16-kill performances for the Crimson Tide. Redshirt freshman Hannah Parant leads the way for Alabama with 223 assists, having tallied back-to-back double-doubles entering the weekend. On the defensive side of the stat sheet, graduate student Trinity Stanger leads the way with 92 digs as classmate Sarah Stevens has a team-best 18 blocks.
The Crimson Tide were tabbed 16th in the SEC preseason poll as the most recent AVCA/TARAFLEX Poll features five teams in the top 25, led by NCAA tournament quarterfinalist Kentucky, at No. 2.
What's Next for the Catamounts:
Following Saturday's matchup with the Crimson Tide, Western Carolina closes out its nonconference slate with a pair of matchups beginning on Thursday, Sept. 18, with a trip to Rock Hill to battle Winthrop. The nonconference weekend concludes on Friday, Sept. 19, with a trek to Charlotte to battle Queens. Both matches are slated for a 6 p.m. first serve.
Friday's bout with the Royals is slated for ESPN+ (paid subscription required), as both contests will have 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).
