Boone, N.C. – Western Carolina volleyball opened its third and final early-season nonconference tournament on Friday night, unable to contain a red-hot North Florida offense as the Ospreys earned a straight-set decision at the Mountaineer Classic at the Holmes Convocation Center. UNF earned the victory with scores of 27-25, 25-20, 25-18.
WCU (3-5) next plays William & Mary in the middle match at the Mountaineer Classic on Saturday night in Boone. North Florida (4-3) plays Saturday afternoon against host App State.
Junior transfer Sophia Marini and senior Zoe Zudans led the Catamounts with eight kills apiece, as both added a pair of digs and Zudans picking up a block. Freshman Aiyana Harris tallied five kills, while sophomore Tatum Sharp had four kills and two blocks to lead the WCU block.
Senior Katie Boney paced the Catamounts with 25 assists and added six digs and a team-best three service aces. Sophomore Elise Gurley led the WCU defensive performance with 12 digs, and senior Eda Yalçinkaya added nine digs in the defeat.
Dakota Spurrier led the North Florida offense with a match-high 18 kills on a .469 attack percentage, while Kaili Doctor tallied 16 kills on a .341 hitting percentage. Katelyn Bowman recorded seven kills for UNF as the Ospreys hit .317 on Friday in the victory. Sofia Dawson led North Florida with 43 assists along with seven digs and three blocks. Defensively, Emma Pohlmann had a match-high 18 digs, as Yarim Francis Garay and Haleina Bowers each had four blocks.
UNF broke open a tight opening set with a 6-3 spurt to take a 15-12 lead at the media break. The Ospreys scored the first point out of the break before the Catamounts scored four of the next six points to even the score at 18. After a back-and-forth battle, the Ospreys used their offensive firepower, including a .472 hitting percentage, to secure a 27-25 opening-set victory.
After a tight 4-4 start to the second set, WCU used a 6-2 run to jump in front at 10-6 while forcing an early UNF timeout. After the stoppage, North Florida was able to cut the deficit to two, 12-10, before WCU responded with a 7-3 spurt to stretch the lead to 19-13 late in the stanza. However, the Ospreys closed on a 12-1 burst to flip the script and win set two 25-20 to take a 2-0 lead.
An early 4-1 burst from UNF stretched the lead to 9-5 early in the third. WCU battled back to an 11-9 and 12-10 deficit before the Ospreys used a 7-1 run to make it 19-11. WCU battled back from a 21-12 difference with four straight points and five out of six points to get it within five, but the Ospreys wouldn't let it get any closer as UNF completed the 3-0 sweep with another hot offensive set at .452.
Western Carolina continues the weekend in the Mountaineer Classic on Saturday, Sept. 12 against William & Mary from the Holmes Convocation Center in Boone. Saturday's match will air on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), and live stats will be available via a link at CatamountSports.com.
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