Sept. 15, 2006
Cullowhee, N.C. - This Friday and Saturday, Sept. 15-16, the Western Carolina volleyball team will host the fifth-installment of the Catamount Clash tournament in the Ramsey Center. The Catamount Clash V consists of five schools playing eight matches over two days with the best overall record being named the tournament champion. Joining Western this year will be High Point, Kennesaw State, Kent State and Valparaiso.
Dating back to 1998, Western has claimed the tournament crown in three of the four previous tournaments, winning outright in 2001 and '03 while sharing the title with Tennessee in 2002. In the latter, however, WCU won the hardware by virtue of its head-to-head victory over the Lady Vols.
Matches get underway at 10:00 am on Friday morning as the Valpo Crusaders battle the High Point Panthers. Kent State and Kennesaw State square off at 12:30 pm as the Golden Flashes and Owls take to the court. Western Carolina makes its 2006 tournament debut at 2:00 pm hosting High Point in its season home opener, with the Owls and Crusaders playing at 4:30 pm. Friday night will be capped off by Western entertaining Kent State at 7:00 pm.
Tournament play continues on Saturday morning as Western plays Valparaiso at 9:00 am and Kennesaw State at 2:00 pm. Between the two Catamount matches, High Point and Kent State square off at 11:30 am
All matches will be played at the Liston B. Ramsey Regional Activity Center on the campus of Western Carolina University. The Ramsey Center became the home to Catamount volleyball full-time in 1999, with Western posting a record of 51-24 (.680) since '99 in the facility. The Ramsey Center is also home to Catamount and Lady Catamount basketball and houses the WCU Athletic Offices.
Following tournament play, an all-tournament team will be announced. In each of the four previous events, Western has had seven named to the honorary squad, with two (Bri Milan-Williams, '98-01; Sara Komosinski, '00-03) earning MVP honors.
Live GameTracker for each match of the Catamount Clash V, presented by Carolina West Sports Medicine, will be available through www.CatamountSports.com, or by clicking the Catamount Volleyball schedule HERE. Also, Valparaiso will be offering live audio of each one of their matches in Cullowhee this weekend. The Source 95's Erick Brooks and Miles Janssen will have the call with audio available at www.valpo.edu/athletics. (WCU vs. Valpo, 9 AM Saturday).
Scouting the Catamount Clash V Teams:
Western Carolina: Under second-year head coach Stephanie Dragan, the Catamounts have gotten off to a rough start at 2-10, which is very reminiscent to last year's 2-10 start at the same time of the season. However, optimism is high this season with a strong group of returning players and an influx of talented freshman.
Perhaps the hottest Catamount as of late has been junior Meredith Harmon. Over the past four matches, Harmon has led the team with an attack percentage of .379 (41 kills, 8 errors, 87 total attacks) and was named to the Comfort Inn Invitational All-Tournament team last weekend. Harmon currently ranks just behind senior teammate, Heather Koontz, in total kills (126-to-91). Koontz, a native of nearby Rosman, N.C., moved into 14th on WCU's all-time career kills chart over the weekend.
Leading the charge for Western's underclassmen is a trio of freshmen in the form of libero Liz Rondone, middle hitter Brittny Johnson, and setter Katie Hennessey. Rondone earned all-tournament honors earlier this season at the Clemson Big Orange Bash. She not only leads the team in digs, but also ranks in the top three in the Southern Conference. Last Saturday versus Central Arkansas, Rondone joined the 30-dig club with 32 total. Johnson leads the team in blocks with 36, averaging just under a block a game at the net, while Hennessey has emerged as the starting setter for the Catamounts.
High Point: A member of the Big South Conference, the Panthers enter this weekend's action in need of a few wins before moving into conference play. High Point is only 1-8, and has lost five-straight matches - including four-in-a-row at the Nike-Portland Invitational last weekend. HPU picked up its lone win of the season back on Sept. 1 against local rival, North Carolina A&T.
High Point's lone senior, middle blocker Sabrina Wahid, is coming off a career-best 13 kill performance last weekend. The team career leader in block assists with 227, Wahid will be called upon heavily this weekend at the Clash. True freshman Audie Gonzales has started every game of each match HPU this season and currently ranks second on the team in kills with three double-doubles and four double-digit kill outings. Not to be overlooked is junior outside hitter, Jamie Kaufman, who was a preseason All-Big South selection. Kaufman leads the Panthers in kills and is just 36 kills shy of reaching 1,000 for her career and she is also HPU's all-time career leader in service aces with 150.
Kent State: After winning two out of three at the Evansville Aces tournament to open the season, the Golden Flashes dropped four-in-a-row before rebounding with back-to-back wins last weekend to stand at 4-5 entering the Catamount Clash. Kent State suffered through a 9-22 season - the worst finish by Golden Flashes volleyball squad in 12 years - in 2005, and were picked to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference's East division this season. Leading the attack for KSU is an incoming class that was ranked in the Top 50 by prepvolleyball.com.
The Golden Flashes are led defensively by junior Laura Jensen with 181 digs, averaging 5.03 per game. She also leads the team in service aces with 13 on the season. Offensively, Kent State is paced by senior middle blocker, Sarah Wilber. The MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week last week, Wilber leads the team in attack percentage, hitting .321 (113 kills, 35 errors, 243 total attacks) and also in total blocks with 32. Her 113 kills (3.14 per game) ranks second on the team, just four behind junior Anne Zakelj who leads Kent State with 117 total kills on the year, averaging 3.25 per game.
Kennesaw State: The Owls are amidst their inaugural season of volleyball competition - something Western Carolina fans can relate to after adding Catamount softball last season. Along with the newness also comes growing pains. Kennesaw comes to Cullowhee with a 1-8 overall record - but are flying high after securing the program's first-ever win last Saturday. KSU blanked Providence, 3-0, to secure its inaugural victory.
Kennesaw is led by freshman Jenny Black who lead the Owls in kills (61 or 2.03 kills per game) and digs (74 or 2.47 digs per game). Junior Lindsey Plotner sits atop the Owls' blocking statistics with 27 total blocks on the season (1.74 blocks per game) and is second on the squad in kills (54 or 1.74 kills per game).
Valparaiso: The Crusaders are coming off a 27-8 season in 2005 - but lost five starters from that Mid-Con Championship squad and were picked to finish second in their conference behind Oral Roberts (Valpo has won three-straight Mid-Con regular season titles). This season, Valparaiso is even at 5-5 after stumbling at the Iowa State Cyclone Classic in Ames, Iowa, dropping two matches in straight sets. Prior to heading south, the Crusaders defeated Drake, 3-0, last Saturday.
Valpo is led by senior Jessie Fox, who was a second team all-conference selection each of the last two years. She is within reach of cracking Valpo's all-time top 10 in career kills, blocks and hitting percentage, already ranking seventh all-time in blocks (339) and hitting percentage (.241) and has an even 800 career kills heading into this weekend's action. Other Crusaders to watch out for are sophomore Brittany Marks, freshman Angie Porché and junior Nicole Schulz. Marks has already earned two all-tournament team honors this season and enters the Clash after nearly breaking Valpo's 16-year old dig record for three-game matches with 30 digs. Porché leads the team in kills and has hit double-figure kills in nine of the 10 matches this season, while Schulz has been Valpo's most efficient hitter early on, leading the team with a .284 attack percentage.
