ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Coming back from down two sets in the opener on Saturday, Western Carolina volleyball rallied in dramatic fashion for a reverse sweep of Bradley on Saturday afternoon from Harrah's Cherokee Center. The weekend concluded on Saturday night with a straight-set defeat at the hands of Charlotte in the Blue Ridge Volleyball Classic.

The Catamounts finish the weekend at 3-3 on the season and return to action on Tuesday at Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center against mountain rival UNC Asheville at 6 p.m. Bradley joins WCU at 3-3 and returns home on Friday, September 12, with a doubleheader against Jacksonville State and Central Michigan. Charlotte finishes the weekend in Asheville at 3-3 and returns to the court on the 12th against SoCon foe UNCG in Wilmington.

WCU was led by freshman outside hitter Samantha Kranzler, who tallied a team-best 27 kills, including a career-high 15 kills on Saturday night against Charlotte. Junior outside hitter Zoe Zudans totaled 26 kills, followed by freshman middle blocker Tatum Sharp who finished with 19 kills, and senior outside hitter/right side Janelle Blue's with 18 kills.

Junior Katie Boney led the squad with 82 assists, eclipsing 1,000 career assists in the comeback win over Bradley. Boney recorded double-doubles in both contests with 12 digs in each matchup. On the defensive end, junior Eda Yalçinkaya had a team-best 40 digs, including a new career high of 26 against Bradley. Sophomore Courtney Graham led the block for WCU with 11 rejections and 15 kills.

Western Carolina 3, Bradley 2 (16-25, 20-25, 25-23, 27-25, 15-11)
Junior Zoe Zudans led the resurgent Catamounts with a team-best 15 kills and a block as Western Carolina rallied from a two-set deficit to score the 3-2 victory over Bradley. Freshman Tatum Sharp finished with 13 kills and four blocks for her second career double-digit kill performance for the Purple & Gold.
 
Catamount freshman Samantha Kranzler filled the stat sheet with 12 kills, eight digs, and a pair of blocks, while senior Janelle Blue rounded out the double-digit kill performances with 10 kills and four blocks for the Catamounts. Sophomore Courtney Graham had nine kills and seven blocks, including numerous key contributions down the stretch in the comeback.
 
On the strength of her second-best single-match performance with 50 assists, junior Katie Boney became the 17th Catamount setter to eclipse the 1,000-career assist mark. She added 12 digs and three blocks for her second double-double of the season. Junior Eda Yalçinkaya set a new career high with 26 digs, while adding four assists. Sophomore Halley Tang, making her first start of the season, tallied 15 digs as freshman Elise Gurley added 10.
 
Gracie Furlong led the Braves with 16 kills, securing a double-double with 13 digs on the defensive end. Anna Kiss tallied 15 kills, followed by Tendai Titley with 12 kills and 17 digs for a double-double of her own. Maria Drapp added 46 assists and 11 digs to go along with six kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Irene Mostardini had a match-high 27 digs for the Braves.
 
Bradley wasted little time getting out to a fast start on Saturday, using the power of a 10-3 run out of the gates to gain the early edge and force a WCU timeout. The Catamounts pushed back before the lead was restored to nine, 18-9, in the later stages of the set. WCU got it back to six on a pair of occasions late, but were unable to inch closer as the Braves scored the final three of the set to win 25-16 and take the 1-0 lead.

WCU answered the bell in the second set, racing out to a 7-1 advantage, which forced Bradley into an early stoppage. The Catamounts maintained the advantage before a 6-3 run from the Braves saw the lead drop to three, 16-13, and force a Purple & Gold timeout. The Braves rallied, completing a 12-4 run down the stretch to take a 2-0 lead on the Catamounts with a 25-20 set two win.
 
The third set was tight early before the Braves inched in front by three, 10-7. The Catamounts quickly made it a 12-11 deficit, but Bradley promptly extended the lead to four, 16-12, forcing a WCU timeout. In a must-win set, WCU put the pedal to the metal with an 8-2 burst out of the stoppage to regain control late at 20-18. The Braves responded to seize a 22-21 late lead before four of the final five points went to WCU, forcing a fourth set.
 
On the verge of completing a four-set win, the Braves had control of the scoreboard with a 21-17 late lead before the Purple & Gold completely flipped the script late. WCU put together a 10-4 run and fought off a match point to take the set 27-25 and force a decisive fifth set.
 
The fifth set again started tight with neither team able to gain much footing before the Catamounts used a 7-3 spurt to race out to the 10-6 lead and force a Braves timeout. Bradley inched the deficit down to two twice, 11-9, and 13-11, before a pair of late points, including a Bradley error, allowed the reverse sweep to give the Catamounts the impressive five-set victory over the Braves.

Charlotte 3, Western Carolina 0 (26-24, 27-25, 25-21)  
Freshman Samantha Kranzler led the Catamounts on Saturday night, setting new career-highs on both ends of the court with a team-best 15 kills and a team-high 15 digs for her second double-double of the season. Junior Zoe Zudans recorded her fifth 10+ kill performance of the season with 11 kills and seven digs.

Junior Katie Boney posted her third double-double of the season and second of the day, with 32 assists and 12 digs, as the WCU setter added four kills and a block to her impressive stat line. Classmate Eda Yalçinkaya tallied 14 digs along with a season-high six assists. Sophomore Halley Tang picked up 11 digs and four assists as one of four WCU players to eclipse 10+ digs on Saturday night.

Kirsten Birmingham led all players in Saturday's match with 18 kills to go along with 11 digs and three blocks for the 49ers. Jessica Ricks added 10 kills and 13 digs for the double-double, adding to the Charlotte attack. Lauren Nixon matched Boney with a game-high 32 assists, in addition to 17 digs. Annika Thompson totaled a match-high 23 digs on the defensive end of the court.

The opening set on Saturday night was tight early with the Catamounts using a 5-3 spurt to inch in front at 15-13 midway through the opening set. The two squads went back-and-forth, leading to a 20-20 score in the set as the opener remained tight with the Catamounts inching it to match point at 24-23, but three straight Charlotte points allowed the 49ers to take a 26-24 opening set win.

The Catamounts answered the bell early in the second set, racing to an 8-3 lead, seizing early control of the set from the 49ers. WCU extended the lead to six, 11-5, before Charlotte used a 9-4 burst to cut it to a one-point set in the Purple & Gold's favor at 15-14. The 49ers and Catamounts battled back and forth, with neither team able to gain much footing. Charlotte took the 21-20 lead, and the following points were traded before the 49ers picked up the final two points and secured a 27-25 set victory.

Charlotte bolted to an early 10-4 advantage in the third set to take early control of the stanza from WCU. The Catamounts battled back with a 9-4 spurt, including four kills from Kranzler, to make it a 14-13 lead for the 49ers at the midpoint. Charlotte responded with a 9-4 burst and withstood a late charge as the 49ers won the set 25-21, taking Saturday's match in straight sets.

Western Carolina pulls the curtain back on its home slate with a visit from mountain-rival UNC Asheville on Tuesday, Sept. 9, with first serve slated for 6 p.m. from Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.  

Tuesday's match against the Bulldogs will be shown on ESPN+ (a paid subscription is required), and live stats will be 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).