Western Carolina volleyball concluded the 2025 season on Friday afternoon falling in straight sets to regular season champion ETSU at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville.

Jeremy Fleming Photography

Women's Volleyball 8/27/2026 4:00:00 PM Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Volleyball Opens 2026 Season at Big Orange Bash

Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina volleyball opens the 2026 season with the first of six straight road matches and 11 of 13 overall to begin the campaign, beginning its 2026 slate with a season-opening trip to the Palmetto State to battle a trio of opponents in the Big Orange Bash, hosted by Clemson at Jervey Gym.

WCU opens the season with an early afternoon first serve against Big East counterpart Butler, with the first serve set for 2 p.m. The Catamounts return to action on Saturday afternoon to battle Charleston Southern at 1 p.m. The tournament finale is set for 4 p.m. Sunday against the host Tigers, concluding the weekend in the Palmetto State.

Sunday's tournament finale for the Purple & Gold will be shown on ACC Network Extra (paid subscription required), while live stats for all three matches will be available on CatamountSports.com.

Match One: Western Carolina vs Butler
Date: Friday, Aug. 28
Time: 2 p.m.
Site: Jervey Gym (Clemson, SC)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Twitter: @CatamountVB

Match Two: Western Carolina vs Charleston Southern
Date: Saturday, Aug. 29
Time: 1 p.m.
Site: Jervey Gym (Clemson, SC)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Twitter: @CatamountVB

Match Three: Western Carolina at Clemson
Date: Sunday, Aug. 30
Time: 4 p.m.
Site: Jervey Gym (Clemson, SC)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Live Video: ACC Network Extra (paid subscription required)
Twitter: @CatamountVB

From the Service Line:
WCU opens the 2026 season with the first of six straight road contests, beginning the campaign at Clemson for the Big Orange Bash hosted by the ACC's Tigers. The Catamounts open up with Big East counterpart Butler along with Big South opposition Charleston Southern before closing the weekend with the host Clemson.

The Catamounts return 10 letterwinners from a season ago, led by the defending SoCon Setter of the Year in Senior Katie Boney along with the reigning 2025 Rayna Taylor SoCon Co-Freshman of the Year Tatum Sharp. Returners join Boney and Sharp in seniors Eda Yalçinkaya and Zoe Zudans, along with juniors Peri Subat, Halley Tang and sophomores Elise Gurley, Danielle Wheat, Evelyn Keefer and Samantha Kranzler.

WCU brings back its top two returners in kills, Sharp and Kranzler, as well as its top six in assists, including Boney, Yalcinkaya, Tang, Kranzler, Gurley, Sharp. At the service line, WCU's top eight leaders are back in terms of aces. On the defensive end, the Catamounts return their top seven in digs (Yalcinkaya, Tang, Kranzler, Boney, Gurley, Zudans and Sharp) along with three of the top five in blocks (Sharp, Boney and Kranzler).

WCU's 16th-year head coach Karen Glover added five freshmen and a pair of transfers to round out the 2026 squad. Junior Sophia Marini (Daytona State) and sophomore Brookelyn Nance (Gardner-Webb) come to Cullowhee as transfers starting in 26 joined by five freshmen. Ashlyn Cobb (Delray Beach, Fla.), Leilani Ramos (Jupiter, Fla.), Aiyana Harris (Mansfield, Texas), Taylor Baggett (Fayetteville, NC), and JoJo Abeyta (Littleton, Colo.).

Catamount Career Record Watch:
Senior Katie Boney enters her fourth season with the Purple & Gold looking to continue to move up the ranks in the school's assist record book as she sits with 1,891 entering Friday's curtain raiser. The Milton, Ga. native begins her fourth year with the Catamounts needing just 109 assists to become the 12th player in program history to eclipse 2,000 career helpers. The 2025 SoCon Setter of the Year looks to build off of an eye-popping junior season that saw her tally over 1,000 assists for the first time by a Catamount since Hannah Price (1,023) in 2019.

SCOUTING THE FIELD:
Butler (12-17, 5-11 Big East in 2025) – RPI 184
Friday's regular season opener sees the Catamounts face off with the first of two Big East opponents in 2026, Butler, in the first-ever meeting on the volleyball court. Friday's action marks the first matchup against a Big East counterpart since 2023, when the Catamounts battled UConn in the final match of Georgia's Classic City Clash to open the 2023 season.

Butler enters 2026 after a 12-17 record a season ago under the leadership of Kyle Shondell, who begins his fourth season in Indianapolis, where he totaled double-digit wins in two of his first three seasons with the Bulldogs.

Senior outside hitter Elise Ward, who was tabbed to the Big East preseason all-conference team, returns as the top offensive threat for the Bulldogs from a season ago. Ward tallied 308 kills at 2.93 per set as the Orland Park, Ill. native recorded four double-doubles for Butler. Senior Kaylee Finnegan led Butler with 788 assists as she had 20 matches with 20+ helpers and a trio of double-doubles. Butler returns 11 players from a season ago, including a quartet of players who saw action in 100+ sets.

Butler was tabbed ninth in the 11-team Big East Preseason Poll, which featured unanimous preseason favorite Creighton, who's ranked 13th in the AVCA/Taraflex Division I Preseason Poll, unveiled on August 10 as three Big East schools were ranked or getting votes to start the 2026 season.

Charleston Southern (16-13, 8-6 Big South in 2025) – RPI 238
After the Bucs battle with the host Tigers on Friday night, Charleston Southern and WCU meet on the volleyball court for the 17th time in the two programs' histories – with Saturday's matchup marking the first since 2018 when WCU took a 3-0 sweep of CSU. The Catamounts hold a commanding 14-2 lead in the all-time series as the Purple & Gold hold an eight-match win streak in the head-to-head battles.

Charleston Southern finished with a 16-13 mark, including an 8-6 record in the Big South last season. The Bucs' top returner on the offensive end is senior opposite side hitter Faith Burch, who totaled 178 kills, followed by senior middle blocker Emma Bednarek at 155 kills for CSU. The Bucs return their top two setters from a season ago in junior Tristin Sutton (557 assists) and sophomore Cara McLean (425 assists). Defensively, senior Presley Morris (500 digs) and Bednarek (99 blocks) are the top returners on the defensive side of the court for Charleston Southern.

Fourth-year head coach Carry Brown leads the Bucs as she comes off her best season in the Low Country with 16 wins for CSU. She came to Charleston after a successful stint at Florida College totaling a 97-74 record in five seasons. Charleston Southern enters the 2026 season picked fourth in the eight-team Big South Preseason Poll.

Clemson (18-14, 6-14 ACC in 2025) – RPI 95
Sunday's tournament finale for WCU features a matchup against event host Clemson, a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The matchup with the Tigers marks the fourth time in the last five years the Catamounts have battled an ACC foe.

The Tigers posted an 18-14 record in 2025, including a 6-14 mark in the ACC. Clemson earned a trio of wins over Top 100 RPI opponents during the 2025 season, including ETSU, Florida State and Georgia. Senior pin Kennedy Wagner returns as the top offensive threat from last season, as she totaled 208 kills a season ago as she appeared in just 54 sets, and Wagner had a pair of 20+ kill matches, including a season-high 22 against FSU. Senior Katherine Standt joined WCU's Katie Boney among the assist leaders last season with 1,098 assists paired with 15 double-doubles to help pace the Clemson attack.

Clemson holds a 27-8 all-time lead in the series history between the two programs, with Sunday being the first matchup since Sept. 2023 when the Tigers earned a 3-0 win over the Catamounts in Clemson. WCU looks to tally its first win over the Tigers since 1986 and its first win over an ACC foe since 2022, when the Purple & Gold downed both NC State and Wake Forest.

The Tigers are led by fifth-year head coach Jackie Simpson Kirr, who has totaled 73 wins in her four seasons at Clemson after spending a pair of seasons with George Mason. The Tigers were tabbed 14th in the 18-team ACC Preseason Poll in a loaded ACC that sees eight teams in the top 25 or receiving votes in the Preseason AVCA rankings.

What's Next for the Catamounts:
Following Sunday's finale with the Tigers, Western Carolina travels to Asheville to participate in the second annual Blue Ridge Volleyball Classic, in conjunction with the Ingles, Asheville Buncombe Regional Sports Commission, Harrah's Cherokee Center – Asheville, Pepsi, and New Belgium Brewing. The three-day event is in the ExploreAsheville.com Arena at the Harrah's Cherokee Center, the same location as the 2026 SoCon Volleyball Championship in November that concludes WCU's 31-match regular-season schedule. The event begins Friday, Sept. 4.

The Catamounts battle Bellarmine on Friday night before facing Jacksonville State the next night at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, with the weekend wrapping up with a 1 p.m. first serve on Sunday against Seton Hall. Live Stats for all three matches will be provided by a link at CatamountSports.com.

Tickets for the weekend's events in Asheville are on sale online through BlueRidgeVolleyballClassic.com or Ticketmaster.com and at the iHeart Media Asheville Box Office located at the venue.

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

#18 Katie Boney: S; 6' 0"; Senior

#6 Elise Gurley: L; 5' 5"; Sophomore

#17 Evelyn Keefer: L; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#15 Samantha Kranzler: OH; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#12 Tatum Sharp: MB; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#10 Peri Subat: OH/RS; 5' 11"; Junior

#2 Halley Tang: L; 5' 7"; Junior

#9 Danielle Wheat: S; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#20 Eda Yalçinkaya: L; 5' 4"; Senior

#22 Zoe Zudans: OH; 6' 0"; Senior

#3 Brookelyn Nance: MB; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#16 Sophia Marini: RS; 6' 0"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#18 Katie Boney
: 6' 0"; Senior
: S

#6 Elise Gurley
: 5' 5"; Sophomore
: L

#17 Evelyn Keefer
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: L

#15 Samantha Kranzler
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: OH

#12 Tatum Sharp
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: MB

#10 Peri Subat
: 5' 11"; Junior
: OH/RS

#2 Halley Tang
: 5' 7"; Junior
: L

#9 Danielle Wheat
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: S

#20 Eda Yalçinkaya
: 5' 4"; Senior
: L

#22 Zoe Zudans
: 6' 0"; Senior
: OH

#3 Brookelyn Nance
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: MB

#16 Sophia Marini
: 6' 0"; Junior
: RS

Western Carolina University

Schedule

Volleyball Opens 2026 Season at Big Orange Bash

Players Mentioned

#18 Katie Boney

#6 Elise Gurley

#17 Evelyn Keefer

#15 Samantha Kranzler

#12 Tatum Sharp

#10 Peri Subat

#2 Halley Tang

#9 Danielle Wheat

#20 Eda Yalçinkaya

#22 Zoe Zudans

#3 Brookelyn Nance

#16 Sophia Marini

Players Mentioned

#18 Katie Boney

#6 Elise Gurley

#17 Evelyn Keefer

#15 Samantha Kranzler

#12 Tatum Sharp

#10 Peri Subat

#2 Halley Tang

#9 Danielle Wheat

#20 Eda Yalçinkaya

#22 Zoe Zudans

#3 Brookelyn Nance

#16 Sophia Marini