Asheville, N.C. – Western Carolina volleyball used a strong fourth-set victory to push mountain rival UNC Asheville to the brink on Tuesday night before the Bulldogs hung on down the stretch to claim the five-set thriller at the Justice Center. Asheville earned the win with scores 25-21, 16-25, 33-31, 19-25, 15-11.
The tight defeat opened a busy three-match week for the Catamounts, who face another Big South Conference foe, USC Upstate, in a home-and-home beginning Thursday in Cullowhee.
WCU sophomore Samantha Kranzler led the attack with her first double-double of the season, recording a season-high 17 kills and 10 digs. Her classmate Tatum Sharp joined with 12 kills on .345 attack percentage, adding five digs and six blocks. Senior Zoe Zudans rounded out the trio of double-figure kill performances with 10 kills for the Catamounts. Freshman Aiyana Harris finished with seven kills and five blocks.
Senior Katie Boney led the Catamounts with 43 assists, while adding five digs, three service aces, and six blocks to her final line. Boney surpassed Catamount standout Hannah Price (2017-20) for ninth all-time in the program's record book for assists. Price finished with 2,324 career assists, usurped by Boney with 2,328 and counting.
Defensively, sophomore Elise Gurley logged her fourth match with 20 or more digs this season. Junior Halley Tang added a season-best 17 digs. The Catamounts tallied a fourth double-digit block match, finishing with 11 rejections led by six apiece from Sharp and Boney, along with five stops from Harris.
Sarah Wadsworth led all players on Tuesday with 19 kills, adding six digs and four service aces. Addie Brookbank posted a double-double with 15 kills and 10 digs, followed by Cadence Nichols with 11 kills on a .348 hitting percentage. Olivia Callipo led the Bulldogs with 32 assists and 10 digs, while Elise Jensen chipped in 20 helpers and eight digs. Olivia Philpot led UNC Asheville with 16 digs, followed by 10 apiece from Brookbank and Callipo. Lydia Pate led the way with three blocks.
The two teams stayed tight early in the first set before an 8-4 run by the Bulldogs gave them an early 11-7 lead. WCU responded with a 7-4 spurt to cut the deficit to one, 15-14, before a 5-2 run put the Bulldogs back up by four. The lead would get no closer as the Bulldogs and Catamounts traded the final 10 points before Asheville earned a 25-21 victory.
A 5-2 run from WCU, followed by a 7-2 spurt from the Bulldogs, allowed the hosts to take an early lead in the second set. The Catamounts capitalized on a stretch of scoring eight of nine points to take a 15-10 lead at the midpoint before trading the next 13 points. WCU scored the final three to take the set 25-16, evening the match at one apiece.
Four early ties gave way to a 7-2 burst from the Catamounts, giving WCU the advantage in the critical third set. UNC Asheville (10-2) battled back with a 9-4 run to even the set at 16 apiece. After a back-and-forth battle over the next 10 points led to a 21-21 draw, the hosts won the first battle to 24-22 before a 6-3 run from the Catamounts made it 28-27. The two teams would go back-and-forth, not willing to give an inch before the Bulldogs pulled out the 33-31 victory as each respective side fought off multiple set points.
The Catamounts broke open a back-and-forth start to the fourth set with a 9-3 burst to take a commanding 14-8 lead at the midpoint. UNCA countered with a quick 5-1 burst to cut the lead to two, 15-13, before the Catamounts used an 8-4 run to push in front and pull off the 25-19 set-four win.
The Catamounts started fast in the rally fifth, taking five of the first seven points before UNC Asheville raced back with eight of the next nine to take a 10-6 lead. Western Carolina quickly answered with four of the next five points to take an 11-10 lead. However, the Bulldogs managed to find late momentum in earning the 15-11 fifth-set victory.
Western Carolina (4-7) finishes nonconference play with a home-and-home against its fourth Big South opponent of the season, hosting USC Upstate on Thursday, Sept. 17, before traveling to Spartanburg the next night to end the pre-SoCon slate. WCU has already faced Charleston Southern, Gardner-Webb, and UNC Asheville ahead of Thursday's back-to-back.
Both matches will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), and live stats will be provided via a link at CatamountSports.com.
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