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Schedule

Full
Zoe Zudans & Aiyana Harris vs GWU
Jessalyn Simpson, Athletics Creative Media
3
Winner Western Caro. WCU 4-5,0-0 SoCon
1
William & Mary W&M 3-5,0-0 CAA
Winner
Western Caro. WCU
4-5,0-0 SoCon
3
Final
1
William & Mary W&M
3-5,0-0 CAA
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Western Caro. WCU 19 25 25 25 (3)
William & Mary W&M 25 17 21 23 (1)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Sharp, Zudans Lead Offense in Four-Set Victory

Boney Reaches Top 10 in WCU Career Assists

Boone, N.C. – Sophomore Tatum Sharp and senior Zoe Zudans led a balanced offensive attack with 13 kills apiece as Western Carolina volleyball battled back to win three straight sets and defeat William & Mary on Saturday night in four sets, 3-1, at the Mountaineer Classic inside the Holmes Convocation Center. WCU earned the win with scores of 19-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-23.

Western Carolina jumps to 4-5 on the season with a matchup against the host Appalachian State, who fell in five sets to North Florida on Saturday afternoon after defeating William & Mary on Friday in three. William & Mary sits at 3-5 and will face UNF Sunday morning to close out the weekend in Boone.

Saturday's win snapped a five-match slide all-time against the Tribe and marked the first win in school history over William & Mary.

Sharp finished with a season-best 13 kills as the sophomore hit at a .333 clip while also adding a trio of service aces to her stat line, which included back-to-back aces in the fourth set. Zudans matched Sharp with 13 kills of her own on Saturday as junior transfer Sophia Marini rounded out the double-figure offense for the Catamounts with 10 kills.

The freshman duo of Taylor Baggett and Aiyana Harris each added nine kills to the offensive performance as Baggett hit a new career benchmark and Harris finished one off of matching her career-high.

Senior Katie Boney led the Catamounts with 42 assists as she moved inside the top 10 in school history for career assists, as Boney has now totaled 2,251 helpers in her time with WCU. Boney surpassed Cristina Nazario (2013-15) for 10th on Saturday, as Nazario had 2,221 in her time in Cullowhee. Boney also added seven digs, three blocks and three kills.
Sharp's career-high three service aces led the Catamounts in the stat as Baggett and junior Halley Tang each added one as well to the stat line.  

Defensively, Gurley continued her strong work from the libero spot for WCU with 19 digs and a career-best tying six assists. Senior Eda Yalçinkaya finished with 11 digs as sophomore Evelyn Keefer tallied 10 digs.

Sharp added to her conference-best in blocks with three more to run her seasonal total to 43, nine more than anyone in the SoCon. Boney joined Sharp with three stops of her own.

William & Mary was led offensively by Audrey Brcka with 12 kills as Olivia Westfort tallied 11 for the Tribe. Cate Hatfield led the way with 33 assists to go along with eight digs. Defensively, Avery Horejsi had a team-best 15 digs as Ava Crabtree picked up 10, while Westfort led William & Mary with four blocks followed by two apiece for Brcka and Emily McKee.

After a tight start to the set that saw neither team able to gain a multi-point lead, William & Mary responded with a 7-1 burst of its own to make it 12-6 and force an early timeout for WCU. The Catamounts battled back to within four, 14-10, before a quick 5-2 spurt saw the Tribe's lead swell to seven, 19-12, and force a Catamount timeout. WCU got it to within eight on a pair of occasions before a 4-0 burst cut it to 24-19, but the Tribe secured the 25-19 opening set victory.

Looking to bounce back from the opening set, WCU answered with five of the first seven points to take early control, but the Tribe answered with a 9-5 run to regain the lead at 11-10. In another tight battle, Western Carolina managed to inch ahead by a pair, 15-13 at the media break. The Catamounts, though, were able to close fast with a 10-4 run, which included late offense from Marini, Zudans, Harris and Baggett to give WCU the 25-17 set two win and even the match at one.

The third set saw 12 ties before the media break, as WCU's quick 3-point offensive output gave the Purple & Gold a 15-13 lead. The Tribe quickly tied the set at 15 before the Catamounts went on an 8-2 run to stretch the lead to six, 23-17. William & Mary scored the next four points before back-to-back kills from Harris gave WCU a 25-21 third-set win.

The Catamounts and Tribe remained tight before a 5-1 run allowed William & Mary to take the 11-5 lead and force a WCU timeout. Five straight points from WCU, including back-to-back service aces from Sharp, made it 11-10 and forced a William & Mary timeout. The two sides traded points before a 5-1 spurt from the Tribe made it 18-14 late in the fourth set. After the two teams traded 3-0 runs, WCU closed on an 8-2 run to flip the scoreboard and earn the four-set victory.

Saturday's win marked WCU's first win of the season after falling in the opening set. The Catamounts also improved to 3-0 on the season when outhitting their opponents.

Western Carolina concludes the weekend in the Mountaineer Classic on Sunday, Sept. 13, against the host Appalachian State at the Holmes Convocation Center in Boone. Sunday's match will air on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), and live stats will be available via a link at 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).
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