Asheville, N.C. – Western Carolina volleyball went the distance for the second time in three days but was unable to contain a red-hot Seton Hall offense down the stretch as the Pirates rallied to take the match in five sets, 3-2, closing tournament action at the Blue Ridge Volleyball Classic. Seton Hall earned the win with scores of 26-24, 23-25, 22-25, 25-15, 15-6.
Western Carolina falls to 2-4 on the season with a home tilt against Gardner-Webb slated for Tuesday in Cullowhee. Seton Hall climbs to 5-1 with a bout against Maryland in College Park on Friday.
Senior Zoe Zudans led the offense with 14 kills, adding five digs and a block. She finished the weekend with a team-best 34 kills in the three matches. Sophomore Tatum Sharp had 12 kills, three digs, and three blocks, while freshman Aiyana Harris added 10 kills and three blocks.
Senior Katie Boney led the Catamounts with 46 assists and added six digs and two service aces to her final line. With her 46 helpers on Sunday, Boney surpassed Catamount standout Sarah Janourova for 11th all-time in the program's record book for assists. Janourova (2021-2024) finished with 2,122 career assists, usurped by Boney now with 2,139 assists to sit in sole possession of 11th in school history.
Defensively, sophomore Elise Gurley put together a strong match with 21 digs and three assists. Junior transfer Sophia Marini had a team-best four blocks along with six kills.
Following the tournament, Sharp and Gurley were named to the all-tournament team for their efforts in Asheville. Sharp tallied 30 kills and a team-best 16 blocks, while Gurley led the Catamounts with 62 digs and 12 assists.
Alondra Villanueva led all players on Sunday with 19 kills and 13 digs along with a pair of solo blocks. Daria Safian finished with 18 kills, five digs and three blocks. Kennedy Horn rounded out the double-figure kills for Seton Hall with 14. Gwen Adler had a team best 35 assists and 11 digs as Emileee Fuller posted 22 helpers and a team-best four aces. Rylee Nelson had a team-best 21 digs followed by Rylee Wooldridge and Villanueva who had 13 apiece. Loukia Papadakos, Samantha Shelton and Safian each tallied three blocks.
WCU started quickly with an early 6-1 run before the Pirates responded with a 7-3 spurt to make it a 9-8 lead for the Purple & Gold. The two teams traded the following 12 points to make it 15-14 at the media break. Seton Hall responded with six of the next 10 points to take a 20-19 lead and force a timeout from WCU. The finish to set one featured five ties before a late 3-1 sprint from Seton Hall allowed the Pirates to claim the set 26-24.
The start of the second set saw seven ties in the early going as neither team gained footing leading to a 15-15 tie at the midpoint. The Catamounts used a small 5-3 run of their own to inch in front by two, 20-18 before four in a row from Seton Hall gave the Pirates a 22-20 lead. The Purple & Gold had the final say on Sunday with a 5-1 run to take the set 25-23.
The third set featured five early ties before a 6-2 burst from the Pirates made it 18-14 late in Asheville. The Catamounts would not be denied in the set as they closed on an 11-4 run highlighted by three kills from Sharp en route to a 25-22 third set victory.
Seton Hall, needing the fourth to force the decisive fifth set, took control early with a 10-4 run out of the gates. The Catamounts cut it to five twice, but a 6-2 run from the Pirates helped propel Seton Hall to the 25-15 fourth set win and forced a decisive fifth and final set.
The Pirates wasted no time in the fifth set opening with a 12-2 burst before going on to earn a 15-6 win and complete the comeback in Sunday's Blue Ridge finale.
Western Carolina returns to the friendly confines of Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center for the first time in regular-season action in 2026. The Catamounts face their first of three Big South counterparts over the next 10 days with a visit from Gardner-Webb on Tuesday, Sept. 8, with first serve at 6 p.m. Tuesday's matchup will be 'Back the Cats Night' and Faculty and Staff Night, and will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), and Live Stats will be provided 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).
