Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Western Carolina University

Western Carolina
The Official Home of Catamount Athletics

Schedule

Full
Junior Zoe Zudans recorded 13 kills and four digs along with a solo block during Tuesday's home opener as Western Carolina volleyball rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat mountain rival UNC Asheville in five sets from Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
Catamount Athletics Creative Media
0
Western Caro. WCU 4-4,0-0 SoCon
3
Winner North Ala. UNA 5-4,0-0 ASUN
Western Caro. WCU
4-4,0-0 SoCon
0
Final
3
North Ala. UNA
5-4,0-0 ASUN
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Western Caro. WCU 18 16 20 (0)
North Ala. UNA 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Zudans Leads Catamounts in Setback at North Alabama

FLORENCE, ALA. – Junior Zoe Zudans tallied a team-high 12 kills on a .312 hitting percentage, but Western Carolina volleyball was unable to withstand the host North Alabama's offense as the Lions earned a 3-0 sweep over the Catamounts in the opening match of the Noona Kennard Volleyball tournament at CB&S Bank Arena on Friday night.

Western Carolina (4-4) returns to action on Saturday afternoon with a 2 pm ET / 1 pm CT start against SEC foe, Alabama. UNA improves to 5-4 and awaits a matchup on Sunday afternoon with the Crimson Tide.

Zudans recorded double-digit kills for the seventh time this season, and her fourth in a row, doing so on her second-best hitting percentage of the year at .312. Freshman Samantha Kranzler finished with eight kills and seven digs in the defeat.

WCU's two-time defending Southern Conference Setter of the Week, Katie Boney, dished out 28 assists, adding nine digs and a pair of blocks. Junior Eda Yalcinkaya led the Catamounts with 13 digs, followed by freshman Elise Gurley with 10. Freshman Tatum Sharp totaled a team-best four blocks.

Reese Ricketts led the Lions with the double-double effort of 15 kills and 12 digs, both marks a team-high on Friday. Kendall Barnes finished with 12 kills, five digs, three aces, and a pair of blocks. Kinslee McGowan totaled 32 assists and nine digs for the hosts. Nicole Sargent had a team-best four blocks.

After a couple of early ties, the Lions used an 8-2 run in the early going to seize control and take the 11-5 lead, forcing a WCU timeout. The Catamounts continued to battle, cutting the deficit to five in the later stages, before UNA quickly stretched the lead back to nine, 22-13. The Purple & Gold used a 5-1 spurt to try and mount a late rally, but the hosts claimed the set 25-18.

The second set stayed tight early with no lead larger than two points for either side before a quick three points from the Lions gave the hosts a 15-11 lead at the media timeout. North Alabama continued to keep the Catamounts at bay with a 10-5 spurt down the stretch to claim the set and stretch the lead to a pair.

The Lions fired off the starting line in the third set with a 7-2 burst, which was quickly met by a 9-4 run from WCU to tie the set in the middle stages. UNA used a quick 6-2 run to stretch the lead to four, 17-13, and force a WCU timeout. The Catamounts continued to fight back, cutting the deficit to two, 20-18. However, a 5-2 spurt allowed the hosts to secure the straight-set victory.

The Catamounts return to the court in Florence on Saturday for their final match of the Noona Kenard Volleyball tournament. WCU is slated for a 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT first serve against SEC counterpart Alabama. Saturday's match for the Catamounts will have live stats at CatamountSports.com , and tickets for Saturday's match are available HERE. 

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).

Print Friendly Version