Volleyball Concludes Nonconference Schedule at Hokie Classic

The Western Carolina volleyball team looks to close out the nonconference portion of the 2022 schedule on a winning note as the Catamounts head to Blacksburg, Va., for the Hokie Classic hosted by Virginia Tech on Thursday and Friday. WCU faces longtime archrival Appalachian State in the tournament opener Thursday at 3 p.m. before facing either Norfolk State or the host Hokies at either 3 or 5:30 p.m. Friday.

Live stats for all matches are available via links on CatamountSports.com.

The Catamounts enter the weekend at 6-4 after picking up their second seasonal victory over an ACC opponent last Friday with a sweep of NC State. Fifth-year senior Merry Gebel led the Catamount offense with a match-high 14 kills while sophomore Bailey Hartsough tallied a career and team-leading 18 digs to go along with nine kills. WCU went 1-2 at the NC State Tournament with a pair of 3-1 losses to Indiana and TCU on Thursday.

Appalachian State is 6-3 after sweeping the Mountaineer Classic last weekend with wins over Texas A&M Commerce, Furman, and Presbyterian. The Mountaineers also have wins over Cal Baptist, Wofford, and USC Upstate with losses coming against Charleston Southern, St. John’s, and Eastern Kentucky. Thursday’s match is the 83rd all-time meeting between the schools with the last match occurring in 2019 in Boone.

Virginia Tech is 5-4 after going 1-2 last week at the DePaul Invitational. The Hokies have wins over UNCW, Coppin State, Marist, Old Dominion, and Eastern Michigan with losses coming against Coastal Carolina, Davidson, DePaul, and St. Louis. The Catamounts and Hokies have never met on the volleyball court.

Norfolk State is 0-7 on the season with losses to Towson, Furman, East Carolina, Hampton, The Citadel, Tennessee, and New Hampshire. The Catamounts are 2-0 all-time against Norfolk State with the last meeting occurring in 2008.

The Catamounts open the Southern Conference portion of the schedule on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center next weekend, facing Samford on Friday, Sept. 23 and Mercer on Saturday, Sept. 24. First serve for both matches is scheduled for 6 p.m.