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Updated Winthrop & Queens Preview - FRONT

Women's Volleyball Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Volleyball Closes Nonconference with Pair of Road Bouts

Cullowhee, N.C. – Looking to close out nonconference play on a high note, Western Carolina volleyball hits the road for a pair of times beginning on Thursday night from Winthrop Coliseum against the host Winthrop.

WCU opens the weekend with a 6 p.m. first serve against the Eagles, followed by a matchup against Queens the next evening, starting at 6 p.m. from the Queen City. Friday's match with the Royals will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live statistics available online via a link at CatamountSports.com for both matches in Rock Hill and Charlotte.

MATCH #1 PREVIEW: Western Carolina (4-5) at Winthrop (4-4)
Date: Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025
Time: 6 p.m.
Site: Winthrop Coliseum (Rock Hill, S.C.)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Twitter: @CatamountVB

MATCH #2 PREVIEW: Western Carolina at Queens (7-3)
Date: Friday, Sept. 19, 2025
Time: 6 p.m.
Site: Curry Arena (Charlotte, N.C.)
Live Video: ESPN+ (paid subscription required)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Twitter: @CatamountVB

From the Service Line:
The Catamounts look to flip the script after back-to-back 3-0 losses in Alabama against the Crimson Tide and the host North Alabama on Friday and Saturday from the Noona Kennard Volleyball tournament in Florence, Alabama. The Catamounts were led offensively by freshmen Samantha Kranzler and junior Zoe Zudans as the pair totaled 16 and 15 kills, respectively, in the two matches. Sophomore Courtney Graham added 11 kills along with a team-best seven blocks.

Two-time SoCon Setter of the Week Katie Boney finished the weekend with a career-high 54 assists and 16 digs as she continued her torrid start to the 2025 season, coming into the weekend 13th in the country in assists (352) and 19th nationally in assists per set (10.35) while leading the SoCon in both categories. On the defensive end, junior Eda Yalçinkaya finished with 23 digs, followed by freshman Elise Gurley, who had 17 digs, and Boney added 16 digs to the defensive side of the court.

As a team, WCU ranks third in the SoCon in kills (429), third in kills per set (12.62), and fifth in hitting percentage. (.189), tied for second in assists (405), tied for second in assists per set (11.91), tied for third in blocks (72), fourth in blocks per set (2.12), second in digs (525), and second in digs per set (15.44).

Individually, the Catamounts have a trio inside the top 10 in the conference in kills, led by Zudans in fourth-place (111), ninth-place Sharp (82), and 10th-place Kranzler (78). WCU is the only team in the league with three or more in the top 10 in the SoCon in kills. Yalçinkaya is tied for second in the league in digs (149), one of seven players in the league to have eclipsed 100 digs thus far.

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 (1,177 Assists):
The Brookhaven, Ga., native continued her tremendous start to the 2025 season with nine straight matches surpassing 26 assists. She became the 17th player in program history to eclipse the 1,000 career assists mark during the Sept. 6 thrilling five-set reverse sweep of Bradley.

Boney sits atop the Southern Conference in assists with 352 helpers, having already tallied four double-doubles on the year and averaging 10.35 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 (877 Digs):
WCU's third-year libero began the 2025 season with a team-high 149 digs, ranking her in a tie for second in the SoCon following the first nine matches of the season. She enters the weekend in Rock Hill and Charlotte needing just 123 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.

Winthrop (4-4 in 2025 – 16-11, 12-2 Big South in 2024) – 2024 RPI 183
Winthrop (4-4) returns to action after suffering a 3-1 defeat at the hands of SoCon foe Furman, which snapped a two-match win streak over UNF & Alabama State. The matchup with Furman was the third against a SoCon opponent in the 2025 season, following losses to Samford and Wofford. The Eagles earned wins in the early going over Davidson and Charlotte, along with the aforementioned wins over North Florida and Alabama State.

Winthrop finished with a 16-11 record in 2024, including a 12-2 Big South mark as the Eagles fell to High Point in the Big South title match. Winthrop competed in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC), falling to East Carolina. The Eagles are led by fourth-year head coach Heather Gearhart, who's tallied 14+ wins in each of her first three full seasons in Rock Hill.

With a team-best 109 kills and seven matches of 11 or more kills, including a season-high 24 on Saturday against Furman, senior outside hitter Avery Jolley leads the Eagles' offensive attack as she garnered Preseason Big South Player of the Year honors and is the reigning player of the week in the league. Senior Rachel McCollum and redshirt senior Isabella Murray are both tallying the assists in the opening stretch of matches, with McCollum totaling 207 and Murray at 108, as the pair earned Co-Setter of the Week last Week. Murray was tabbed as the Preseason Setter of the Year.
 
Sophomore Sophia Matthews leads the Winthrop defense with 100 digs, followed by Jolley with 88 thus far. Sophomore Giselle Little leads the block with 25 stops, followed by redshirt sophomore Teagan Sychterz with 24 rejections. 

The Eagles were picked in a tie for the top spot of the eight-team Big South preseason poll, as Winthrop was picked with High Point in the league's top spot. Jolley, Murray, Little, and Sophia Matthews all were named to the league's Preseason All-Conference team, with Jolley, Murray, and Matthews receiving Preseason Player/Setter and Libero of the Year plaudits.

Winthrop and WCU meet for the 15th time in the two schools' histories as the Catamounts seek back-to-back wins in the series, following a 3-0 sweep in Statesboro last season. Thursday marks the first time the two teams have met in Rock Hill since the Eagles earned a 3-0 decision over the Purple & Gold. The Eagles have won all four true road contests in the series.

Queens (7-3 in 2025 – 9-19, 6-10 ASUN in 2024)  – 2024 RPI 285
The Catamounts look to give the SoCon a winning record against the Royals as they fell to UNCG in their opening match and earned a 3-0 win over The Citadel throughout the first month. Queens has had 2-1 weekends in all three of its tournaments thus far, with a midweek win over USC Upstate sandwiched in between.

Friday's match will be the first all-time meeting between the Catamounts and Royals.

The Royals look to continue improvement on a 9-19 mark in 2024, including a 6-10 record in the ASUN action. They are led by Matt Stolz, who's in his first season at the helm in Charlotte after previous stops at Southeast Missouri State and on the staff at Marquette.

Redshirt sophomore Emma Norris leads the Royals with 100 kills, followed closely by junior Callie DeSchryver with 98 and freshman Elizabeth Layson with 82. Freshman Tyler Peluso leads Queens with 203 helpers, followed closely by sophomore Megan Kelly with 165 assists. Peluso has five double-doubles, and Kelly has recorded three thus far in 2025.

On the defensive side of the stat sheet, junior Tilley Collins (159) and graduate student Mia McMillen (110) lead the Royals in digs, while Norris has a team-best 47 blocks.

The Royals were tabbed 11th in the 12-team ASUN preseason poll.

What's Next for the Catamounts:
Following Friday's matchup with the Royals, Western Carolina pulls the curtain back on its 2025 Southern Conference schedule with a trip to Charleston on Friday, Sept. 26, to battle The Citadel before heading to Spartanburg for a matchup against preseason favorite Wofford. Friday's match with the Bulldogs is slated for a 4 p.m. start, followed by a 6 p.m. first serve in Spartanburg the next night.

Both matches with the Bulldogs and Terriers are 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).
 
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Players Mentioned

Courtney Graham

#5 Courtney Graham

MB
6' 1"
Sophomore
Eda Yalçinkaya

#20 Eda Yalçinkaya

L
5' 4"
Junior
Zoe Zudans

#22 Zoe Zudans

OH
6' 0"
Junior
Elise Gurley

#6 Elise Gurley

L
5' 5"
Freshman
Samantha Kranzler

#15 Samantha Kranzler

OH
5' 11"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Courtney Graham

#5 Courtney Graham

6' 1"
Sophomore
MB
Eda Yalçinkaya

#20 Eda Yalçinkaya

5' 4"
Junior
L
Zoe Zudans

#22 Zoe Zudans

6' 0"
Junior
OH
Elise Gurley

#6 Elise Gurley

5' 5"
Freshman
L
Samantha Kranzler

#15 Samantha Kranzler

5' 11"
Freshman
OH