Greensboro, N.C. – Western Carolina volleyball dropped its Southern Conference opener on Friday night, falling to instate league rival UNC Greensboro in straight sets in the front-end of back-to-back meetings at the on-campus Bodford Arena. The Spartans claimed the opener, 25-22, 25-14, 25-21.
Senior Zoe Zudans led the Catamounts' offense with her ninth double-digit kills effort with 10 along, adding four digs. After missing five straight matches, freshman Ashlyn Cobb made her presence felt with nine kills and eight digs. Sophomore Tatum Sharp added six kills and three blocks, along with a career-best four service aces.
Senior Katie Boney dished out 29 assists, along with a team-high-tying four blocks and four digs. Defensively, sophomore Elise Gurley led the Catamounts with 15 digs. Sharp and freshman Aiyana Harris, who returned to the lineup after missing last Friday's match with USC Upstate, led with four blocks apiece.
Allie Sweet paced UNCG with a match-best 19 kills and 11 digs for a double-double, adding three assists and a block. Sweet finished with a .349 attack percentage. Connore Siler-Nixon added 13 kills, hitting at a .480 clip and adding a pair of blocks. Kendall Lanclos rounded out the trio of double figure kill performances with 11. Izora Gragg led all players with 35 assists along with nine digs. Chloe Nussbaum had a team-high 12 digs as a pair of Spartans had two blocks to lead the defense.
The match began with five ties in the first half before a quick 6-2 spurt gave the Spartans a 15-13 lead at the media break. WCU clawed back with five of the next seven points to inch ahead 18-17 before the hosts flipped the scoreboard back in their favor at 22-20 late in the opening set. Cobb and sophomore Samantha Kranzler both picked up back-to-back kills before three in a row from UNCG earned a 25-22 set one victory.
UNCG rode the momentum of a strong finish in the opening set with a 14-4 run to separate from an early tight start and take control of the second set. WCU cut the deficit to nine on a couple of occasions, but the Spartans kept the distance en route to a 25-14 victory and a 2-0 match lead.
After four early ties, the Catamounts used a four-point burst from Zudans and Sharp to take an 11-7 lead in the third set. UNCG answered with an 8-3 run of its own to turn the tide and take a lead at 15-14 at the media break. WCU was able to fight back to a tie at 21-21 on the heels of a 5-2 burst before the Spartans closed with four straight points to take the match in straight sets.
Western Carolina (4-10) returns to the hardwood on Saturday afternoon for a 3 p.m. rematch against UNCG to close out the opening weekend of league action, looking to bounce back from its first league-opening loss since 2018.
Saturday's rematch will air on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), and live stats will be available via a link at CatamountSports.com.
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