Sophia Marini & Aiyana Harris vs UNC Asheville

Greg Hartlage - WCU Athletics

Women's Volleyball 9/16/2026 8:30:00 PM Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Volleyball Finishes Pre-SoCon Slate with Home-and-Home vs. Upstate

Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina volleyball finishes off a busy week to close out nonconference play as the Catamounts play a home-and-home showdown against USC Upstate beginning on Thursday night from Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center before transitioning on Friday to the GB Hodge Center in Spartanburg.

Thursday has been dubbed Dorm Wars, where the dorm with the highest attendance percentage wins a prize. First serve for both matchups against the Spartans is slated for 6 pm and each will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats for each match, linked below and at CatamountSports.com.

Home Matchday: USC Upstate (5-3) vs Western Carolina (4-7)
Date: Thursday, Sept. 17
Time: 6 p.m.
Site: Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center (Cullowhee, NC)
Live Video: ESPN+ (paid subscription required)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Twitter: @CatamountVB

Road Matchday: Western Carolina at USC Upstate
Date: Friday, Sept. 18
Time: 6 p.m.
Site: GB Hodge Center (Spartanburg, SC)
Live Video: ESPN+ (paid subscription required)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Twitter: @CatamountVB

From the Service Line:
The Catamounts continue their week of Big South action after a tight five-set defeat on Tuesday at the hands of UNC Asheville. Tuesday's matchup with the Bulldogs marked the third Big South foe that WCU has faced, as the Purple & Gold have already faced Charleston Southern and Gardner-Webb, along with Asheville and this week's back-to-back with the Spartans.

This week's back-to-back with USC Upstate marks the first time that WCU has played the same team in consecutive days since March 28-29, 2021, to close out the spring COVID-19 season against UNCG. The two in a row with the Spartans also prepare the Catamounts for the upcoming league slate that sees the Purple & Gold go two in a row for matchday in each league weekend.

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 a .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.

Former Daytona State Falcons Meeting This Week:
The matchups with the Spartans feature a Daytona State reunion as junior Sophia Marini and USC Upstate's Cora Hamilton go head-to-head after the pair were teammates with the Falcons during the 2024 season.

Entering This Week's Spartan Two-Step:
Individually, Boney leads the Southern Conference and ranks first nationally with 437 total assists, 118 more than anyone else in the conference. She is also fourth with an average of 9.1 assists per set. Zudans starts the Spartan double seventh in the league with 116 kills.

Sharp paces the league with 51 total blocks, nine more than second place in the SoCon, and is fourth in rejections per set at 1.06. She is also seventh in the NCAA in rejections, while Boney checks into the weekend tied for sixth with 34 stops; Gurley leads the league with 205 digs and is also third in the NCAA in digs through this point of the 2026 campaign. Her 4.27 digs-per-set average is also fourth in the SoCon.

The Catamounts also have a trio of players in the top 10 in aces: Boney is solo third with 15, freshman Ashlyn Cobb and junior Halley Tang sit with 12 apiece in a tie for eighth.

As a team, WCU leads the SoCon in kills (540), assists (502), blocks (87), digs (684), sets played (48), and service aces (72). WCU is also first in the nation in seasonal sets played with 48 sets thus far in 2026. The Catamounts currently sit second nationally in digs and are fourth in the nation in kills and assists.

Catamount Career Record Watch:
Katie Boney continued her climb up the program's record book for career assists Tuesday night, tallying 43 more helpers to surpass Hannah Price (2017-20) for ninth all-time in program history, with 2,328 career assists. Boney needs 478 helpers to move into eighth in program history and pass Shari Harder (2000-03), who had 2,806 in her Purple & Gold career.

SCOUTING THURSDAY & FRIDAY'S OPPONENT: USC Upstate (5-3) – 2025 RPI 249
The Catamounts and Spartans meet on Thursday and Friday for the 12th and 13th time in the two programs' history, and for the first time since the 2013 season. WCU looks for back-to-back wins in the all-time series as the Catamounts won the last head-to-head battle in 2013 by the score of 3-1, snapping a three-match skid to the Spartans.

USC Upstate (5-3) comes into Thursday's match off of a four-set defeat at the hands of Elon last Saturday. The Spartans have a pair of two-match win streaks coming against ODU and Norfolk State, along with Queens and NCCU.

Sophomore Summer Kohler leads Upstate with 124 kills, as she's eclipsed double-figure kills in all eight matches and has picked up a trio of double-doubles, all of which have occurred in victories. Classmate Kensley Haneline has 78 kills for the Spartans, with five matches recording 10+ kills.

Junior setter Kamyla Vega David leads the Spartans with 228 helpers, tallying three double-doubles this season. Vega David has had five matches with 30+ assists. Sophomore defensive specialist/libero Sophia Overholt leads the squad with 146 digs, followed by Kohler with 76. Freshman middle blocker Tien Murray has posted a team-best 32 blocks, followed closely behind by Haneline with 28 stops.

USC Upstate is led by fourth-year head coach Ali Skayhan, who has posted double-digit wins in each of her first three years in Spartanburg. USC Upstate was picked third in the eight-team Big South Preseason Poll, while Kohler, Vega David and Overholt were named to the league's all-conference team, with Vega David earning Co-Setter of the Year and Overholt tabbed as the top libero.

What's Next for the Catamounts:
After Friday's nonconference finale, Western Carolina turns its attention to Southern Conference play, which commences on Friday, Sept. 25, when the Catamounts travel to UNCG for a back-to-back showdown with the Spartans.

Friday's opener is slated for a 6 p.m. start, with Saturday's action tabbed for a 3 p.m. first serve. Both matches 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 X (@catamounts, @catamountvb).

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