Volleyball Makes Weekend Road Swing to Mercer, Samford

The Western Carolina volleyball team looks to keep its strong start to the Southern Conference season going as the Catamounts open the second half of league play this weekend with visits to Mercer on Friday and Samford on Saturday. Friday’s match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. first serve with Saturday set to begin at 6 p.m. Eastern.

Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with free live stats available on catamountsports.com.

WCU is 13-7 overall and 6-2 in SoCon play following a 3-2 road win over Furman on Friday evening. Bailey Hartsough led the Catamounts with a career-best 20 kills and added 16 digs. Eden Punch swatted eight blocks as the Catamounts rallied from a 2-1 match deficit to secure the win. On Oct. 12, the Catamounts defeated UNCG in three sets to win in Greensboro.

Mercer is 7-13 on the season and 3-5 in league play following a 3-2 home victory over Wofford on Friday. The Bears had a match-best 18 kills by Anne Karle and used an 8-1 run in the fifth set to grab the match. The Catamounts won the first matchup between the schools 3-0 in Cullowhee on Sept. 24.

Samford is 11-9 overall and 6-2 in conference matches having won five straight contests, all of which came in either three or four sets. The Bulldogs lead the SoCon in kills, assists, service aces, and hitting percentage. Kayla Keshock paces the league with 9.79 assists and Kate Morgan has a league-best 0.55 service aces per set followed by Keshock in second place with 0.39. WCU and Samford are tied in the league standings heading into the weekend, but the Catamounts hold the tiebreaker thanks to a 3-1 home win in the league opener for both schools on Sept. 23.

The Catamounts are back at home next weekend, October 28-29, hosting Wofford on Friday and The Citadel on Saturday. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.