Clemson, S.C. – Senior setter Katie Boney became the 12th player in school history to eclipse the 2,000-career assist plateau as Western Carolina dropped a four-set decision to the host Clemson Tigers on Sunday afternoon at the Big Orange Bash held inside Jervey Gymnasium.
The Catamounts fought back to even the match at a set apiece with a 25-22 win in the second set, and had the Tigers on the ropes in the third before succumbing, 26-24. Clemson clinched the match and tournament title with a 25-20 victory in the third set.
Boney dished out a team-best 114 assists over the three matches in Clemson in collecting Big Orange Bash All-Tournament team plaudits. The Brookhaven, Ga., product added 31 digs as part of two double-doubles, bolstering her stat line with six kills, 10 blocks, and four service aces.
Boney registered 32 assists along with eight digs for the Catamounts on Sunday. She also matched a season-high with four blocks and picked up three kills in the finale.
Sophomore Tatum Sharp led the Catamount offense in Sunday's finale with 10 kills, matching a season-high to accompany a season-best six blocks. Zoe Zudans added nine kills along with three digs and a pair of blocks. Freshman Aiyana Harris finished her debut weekend with eight kills and a pair of blocks, while classmate Ashlyn Cobb posted her third double-digit dig match of the season with 14 to go along with six kills and a pair of aces.
Sophomore Elise Gurley tallied a team-best 15 digs. Freshman Taylor Baggett made her collegiate debut and added a block to the stat line in the latter stages of Sunday's match.
Clemson was led by Maddie Anspaugh, who posted a match-best 20 kills along with three blocks. Talea Mitchell added 10 kills, three aces, three digs and two blocks. Both Lina Merz and Anika Groom finished with seven kills apiece as Merz added five blocks. Katherine Sandt led the match with 42 assists as she paired that with seven digs. Claire Luoma led Clemson with 15 digs and also added four helpers. Alyssa Irwin paced the Tigers with six blocks.
Three early ties and no lead more than three points highlighted the opening set before the media break. Down 15-13 at the stoppage, WCU answered with a quick two points to tie the set. However, Clemson responded with an 8-1 burst to stretch the lead to 23-16. The Catamounts scored four of the next five points before Clemson picked up the 25-20 opening set win.
Clemson started quickly with a 5-2 run out of the gates in set two before the Catamounts responded with a 9-2 spurt to jump in front 11-7. The Tigers fought back with seven of the next 10 points to even the score 14 at the media break. The Catamounts used consecutive points to take a 20-18 lead. Clemson answered with three quick points before WCU closed on a 5-1 run to even the match at a set apiece.
Both play and the scoreboard remained tight in the critical third set with four ties in the early stages before an 8-4 run from WCU forced a Clemson timeout at 12-8. The Tigers pushed back as they whittled the deficit to two, 16-14, before the Catamounts extended the lead back to five, 20-15. Clemson used an 11-4 burst down the stretch to earn the 26-24 set three win.
The Tigers rode that momentum to a 13-4 opening to the fourth set. WCU responded with a 10-4 burst of its own to force a Clemson timeout at 17-14. The Catamounts were able to whittle the deficit down to four on a pair of occasions, but got no closer as the Tigers earned the 25-20 fourth-set win for a 3-1 match victory.
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).
