Clemson, S.C. – For the second time in as many matches, Western Carolina volleyball went the distance in the Big Orange Bash as the Catamounts battled Charleston Southern before the Bucs edged the Purple & Gold in the five-set marathon on Saturday afternoon at Jervey Gymnasium. The Bucs claimed the match by scores of 23-25, 26-24, 25-18, 22-25, 15-6.
Charleston Southern improves to 1-1 on the young season with a matchup against Butler on Sunday afternoon. WCU drops to 0-2 with a matchup against the host Clemson to close out the opening weekend from the Palmetto State.
Senior Zoe Zudans paced the Catamounts offense with 11 kills, followed by sophomore Tatum Sharp who finished with 10 kills and a team-best six blocks for WCU. Freshman Aiyana Harris surpassed her season-best in kills with nine along with a trio of rejections.
Sophomore Samantha Kranzler put together a stat-stuffing Saturday for WCU, tallying eight kills, 14 digs, four blocks and three service aces. Freshman Ashlyn Cobb continued her strong start to college with seven kills along with season-bests in aces (5) and digs (17). In her WCU debut, junior transfer Sophia Marini finished with four kills on just nine swings with a block.
Boney registered her 20th career double-double and second of the season with a game-high 43 assists and 10 digs. Defensively, sophomore Elise Gurley posted a career-high 19 digs to lead the Catamounts while also adding five helpers. Gurley one of four Catamounts with double-digit digs joining the aforementioned Cobb, Kranzler and Boney.
Western Carolina put together another solid day at the net, finishing with nine blocks as a team led by Sharp's six stops and Kranzler career-high four blocks and Harris's three stops.
Charleston Southern was led by Faith Burch, who posted a match-high 18 kills along with a pair of blocks. Dillia Lowry added 15 kills, followed by 13 kills, 13 digs and five blocks from Brynn Minter. Surima Akat finished with 12 kills, five digs and two rejections. Tristin Sutton tallied a double-double with 42 helpers and 16 digs. Presley Morris had a match-high 30 digs for the Bucs.
Charleston Southern started fast this afternoon with a quick 8-3 run to gain the early edge on the Catamounts before the Purple & Gold outscored the Bucs 12-6 to the media break which featured five ties in the stretch. The Catamounts pushed the lead to 19-17 before CSU responded with three out of four points to even the set at 20 and force a WCU timeout. The set hung in the balance before WCU closed with three of four points to earn the set win 25-23.
After CSU gained the early edge in the second set, the two teams remained tight with five ties before back-to-back WCU kills made it 15-13 at the media break. After a quick two points from Western Carolina, the Bucs continued to battle back and after the Catamounts made it 23-19, Charleston Southern closed on a 7-1 run to even the match at a set apiece with a 26-24 set two win.
Western Carolina pulled in front early in the third set with a 7-5 lead before Charleston Southern answered with a 10-4 burst to take a 15-11 advantage to the third set media break. The two teams continued to battle back-and-forth with WCU pulling to within two, 19-17 before CSU went on a 6-1 run to earn the set three win, 25-18.
In a must-win fourth set, Western Carolina answered the bell with a 9-4 run out of the gates to take early control. CSU battled back over the net several points as they whittled it down to three, 14-11 before a WCU point led to the media timeout. Out of the break, Charleston Southern went on an 8-3 spurt of its own to flip the scoreboard in its favor at 19-18. WCU fought back down the stretch with a 7-3 burst en route to a 25-22 set four victory.
In the decisive fifth set, the Bucs wasted no time as they jumped out to a 7-2 advantage and never looked back as WCU was only able to get it within four twice before CSU took the set 15-6 to earn the five-set victory.
Western Carolina closes the opening weekend on sunday with a 4 p.m. matchup against the host Clemson. Sunday's tournament finale will have live video on ACC Network Extra (paid subscription required) along with live stats available through links at CatamountSports.com.
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