Cullowhee, N.C. – Following consecutive road tournaments in Boca Raton, Fla., and last weekend in Asheville, the Western Carolina volleyball team opens its 2025 home schedule on Tuesday night with a visit from mountain rival UNC Asheville. Tuesday's home opener is slated for a 6 p.m. first serve at Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
Tuesday is also "Beach Night" in Cullowhee, presented by First Bank, as the first 300 fans will receive WCU Malibu Sunglasses. Fans are encouraged to dress in beach attire for the special celebratory promotion. Admission on Tuesday – and all home matches throughout the 2025 season – is free of charge, presented by First Bank.
Tuesday's match against the Bulldogs will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live statistics available online via a link at CatamountSports.com.
MATCH PREVIEW: UNC Asheville (1-5) vs Western Carolina (3-3)
Date: Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025
Time: 6 p.m.
Site: Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center (Cullowhee, N.C.)
Live Video: ESPN+ (paid subscription required)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Twitter: @CatamountVB
From the Service Line:
Western Carolina enters the week after scoring one victory in the Blue Ridge Volleyball Classic in Asheville, rallying all the way back from down 2-0 on Saturday to reverse sweep Bradley to pick up the thrilling five-set win. The win sandwiched between a pair of tough defeats at the hands of Charlotte and the College of Charleston as part of the inaugural event at the Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, as a precursor to the 2025 SoCon Volleyball Championship in November.
The Catamounts filled the stat sheet throughout the weekend in Asheville, led by junior outside hitter Zoe Zudans (33 Kills) as she tallied 15 kills in Saturday's five-set win over Bradley. The Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. native ranks second in the conference with 83 kills through the opening two weekends. Zudans was joined offensively by a pair of freshmen, Samantha Kranzler (27 K) and Tatum Sharp (26 K), along with senior Janelle Blue (25 K) and Courtney Graham (21 K), each of whom led the offense in Asheville.
Last week's SoCon Setter of the Week, Katie Boney, posted a league-best 112 assists, averaging 10.18 assists per set and ranking eighth in the country in assists (241) and 17th nationally in assists per set (10.7) while leading the SoCon in both categories. On the defensive side of the stat sheet, junior Eda Yalçinkaya finished with a team-best 55 digs and ranks third in the SoCon with 105 digs and sophomore Halley Tang followed with 32 digs, making a pair of starts over the weekend.
Boney (29 digs), Kranzler (28 digs), and freshman Elise Gurley (20 digs) rounded out five Catamounts with 20 or more digs in Asheville. Kranzler added her second career double-double on Saturday against Charlotte, recording 15 kills and 15 digs, as she set new career benchmarks in both categories. On the block, Graham led the defense with 15 rejections, leading the SoCon through two weekends.
As a team, WCU leads the SoCon in kills (305), ranks first in kills per set (13.26), and third in hitting pct. (.199), first in assists (285), second in assists per set (12.39), tied for third in blocks (48), fourth in blocks per set (2.09), third in digs (354), third in digs per set (15.39), and tied for third in service aces (30).
Following Tuesday's action in Cullowhee, WCU makes the trek to North Alabama for a matchup with the host Lions and SEC foe Alabama. The nonconference slate concludes with back-to-back road bouts against Winthrop and Queens. The Catamounts open SoCon play with road matchups at The Citadel and Wofford before returning to Cullowhee for a SoCon home opener against ETSU on Oct. 3.
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 (1,071 Assists):
The Brookhaven, Ga., native continued her torrid start to the 2025 season with six 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 246 helpers, having already tallied three double-doubles on the year and averaging 10.7 assists per set. She garnered SoCon Setter of the Week honors for the first time in her WCU career last week. 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 (833 Digs):
WCU's third-year libero began the 2025 season with a team-high 105 digs, ranking her among the top five in the SoCon following the first two weekends. She enters the midweek action needing just 167 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.
UNC Asheville (1-5 in 2025 – 11-12, 5-9 Big South in 2024) – 2024 RPI 301
UNC Asheville and Western Carolina meet for the 56th time in the two schools' respective histories in a rivalry that dates back to the 1980s. Tuesday's action marks the 23rd meeting between WCU and Asheville in Cullowhee, with the Catamounts earning a 3-0 win over the Bulldogs in 2023. WCU has won the last four head-to-head meetings with Asheville that have been contested in Cullowhee.
UNC Asheville (1-5) earned its first win of the 2025 season with a straight-set decision over West Georgia on Friday in Asheville, snapping a three-match skid that included losses to Alabama, UAB, and Jacksonville. The Bulldogs dropped the final two matches of the weekend to ECU and SoCon foe Furman.
Asheville aims to build on its 11-12 mark in 2024, including a 5-9 record in Big South action. The Bulldogs are under the direction of second-year head coach Danielle Marante, who spent the past five seasons at NCAA D-II Tusculum, where she totaled 73 wins, including a pair of 20-plus win marks.
With 72 kills and four-straight matches with 13 or more kills, redshirt junior Kylie Cackovic leads the Bulldogs on the young season, entering play on Tuesday. Cackovic has added 38 digs with her first double-double coming against Furman on Saturday. Fifth-year senior Michelle Thao leads the Bulldogs on the defensive side of the court with 91 digs. Graduate student Baylor Herlehy leads UNC Asheville with 21 blocks, followed by junior Albertine van der Goot with 17 rejections.
The Bulldogs were picked fourth in the Big South preseason poll. Cackovic and Thao both received preseason all-conference recognition from the Big South.
What's Next for the Catamounts:
Following Tuesday's home opener with the Bulldogs, Western Carolina continues a road-heavy portion with a visit to Florence, Alabama, to battle North Alabama and Alabama in a pair of road bouts. The Catamounts will battle the host Lions on Friday, Sept. 12, with first serve slated for 7 p.m. ET before facing the Crimson Tide the following afternoon at 2 p.m. ET.
Both matches will take place at CB&S Bank Arena at Flowers Hall with Friday's bout slated for ESPN+ (paid subscription required) as both contests will have 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).
