Greg Hartlage
Press Release
Junior Ali Morris led three Catamounts with double-digit kills with a career-high 25 on Wednesday night as Western Carolina outlasted The Citadel in a five-set marathon victory in the Southern Conference opener for both squads at the McAlister Fieldhouse.
Wednesday's win over the Bulldogs marks the sixth straight season that the Catamounts have won their SoCon opener including the second time over The Citadel in that stretch. The match was the longest (2:33) for the Catamounts since last September when WCU went 2:36 in a five-set home match with Furman.
Morris led the way with her career-best 25 kills to go along with a season-high 25 digs to lead WCU as she grabbed her seventh double-double of the season. It's the first Catamount to eclipse 25 kills in a match since Merry Gebel finished with 27 kills in a road match against Alabama back in 2021 and ranks her tied for 15th overall in WCU's single-match record book.
Senior Bailey Hartsough finished with 18 kills in the winning effort, eclipsing the 1,000-kill mark in her career while matching her career-high of 26 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. The LaGrange, Ind., native also added five assists and a pair of aces to a fully loaded stat line. Sophomore Logan Carr rounded out WCU's trio of double-digit kills with a career-high 13 on a .417 attack percentage, marking five of the last six matches that she's hit over .400, with WCU winning each of those games.
Senior Sarah Janourova led the Catamounts in assists as she matched a season-high with 33 helpers while also with tallying a season-high 21 digs for her team-best ninth seasonal double-double. Sophomore Katie Boney passed out a career-high 28 assists with 11 digs for her second double-double of the season. It's the first time the Catamounts have had a pair of players eclipse 25 assists in the same match since the same duo did it last year against Furman.
On the defensive end of the court, sophomore Eda Yalcinkaya rounded out the four Catamounts to record 20 or more digs with 20, one off of her career-high. Combined, the Catamounts finished with 112 digs on Wednesday, the most by a WCU team since totaling 113 against Wofford during the 2011 season. Wednesday's total is the 11th most digs by a WCU team in program history.
At the net, junior Janelle Blue had a team-high five blocks, followed by classmate Samantha Jo Mikosky, who added four rejections.
Ali Ruffin led the Bulldogs' offensive as one of two players for the hosts to eclipse 20 kills, tallied 23, with Sophie Childs recording 21 and Mackenzie Martin rounding out the double-figure kills with 15. Belle Hogan led all players on Wednesday night with 62 assists.
Jaelynn Elgert had the top spot for The Citadel in digs with a match-high 34, followed by Ruffin finishing off her double-double with 33. Martin added 20 for a second double-double, followed by 14 from Hogan for the third for the hosts. Peri Hoshock and Aaliyah Byers paced The Citadel with seven blocks apiece.
After four early ties kept the two teams tight, WCU used a 5-0 burst, including a pair of aces from Hartsough, to take a 9-4 lead and force the Bulldogs into an early timeout in the opening set. The Citadel pushed back out of the break with four of the next seven points to cut the deficit to four, 12-8 before six of the next nine from the Catamounts pushed it to an 18-11 score late in the opening set. The Bulldogs again cut the deficit to four with a 6-3 spurt before WCU kept the hosts at arm's length and claimed the set 25-20.
The Citadel opened the second set fast, scoring four of the first five points to gain an early edge. A 5-2 run from WCU allowed the set to be evened at six. The Bulldogs pushed the edge to four, 15-11, at the media break behind a 9-5 spurt from the home team. The Bulldogs then scored four of the following six points to take a 19-13 lead and force a WCU timeout. The Catamounts were able to cut the deficit to five late at 22-17 before three straight from The Citadel evened Wednesday's action at a set apiece.
In a pivotal third set, WCU began the stanza fast with an early 5-1 burst that forced the Bulldogs to use an early timeout. A 5-2 run out of the stoppage maintained a 7-6 lead before a 5-3 run allowed the Bulldogs to take an 11-10 lead and force a WCU timeout.
Following two quick points from the Bulldogs, WCU scored six of the next eight points to take a 16-15 lead. The Bulldogs were the first to 20, scoring five of the following eight points before the Catamounts rolled to the finish using a 6-1 run to claim a 25-21 set three winner.
The fourth set turned epic with the Cadets winning a scoring marathon to force the decisive fifth game. The Citadel led at the media stoppage, 15-11, before the two teams traded bursts with the home squad hitting 20 first at 20-16. WCU went on an 8-4 run to quickly send the set into extra points, knotted at 24 all.
Little did the Catamounts and Bulldogs know, though, that the set was just reaching its halfway point. The two teams went back and forth for 36 more points with the two teams combining for 18 set/match points before the hosts managed to extend the match by taking the marathon set at 43-41.
At the start of the fifth set, six ties were made as both teams looked for an edge. WCU took a slim 8-7 lead to the media break, and both teams flipped sides. The Bulldogs scored four points to jump to an 11-8 lead before the Catamounts answered with three of their own to even the set at 11. Citadel scored first out of a timeout before the guests closed with four of the final five points to claim a marathon win in Wednesday night's SoCon opener, 15-13.
The Catamounts are scheduled to return home to Cullowhee for the first time in 2024 with a SoCon matchup against Mercer on Friday, Sept. 27. The first serve is scheduled for a special 12:30 p.m. start from Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. The matchup with the Bears will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), and live stats will be available on CatamountSports.com.
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