Sept. 9, 2005

Final Stats

Birmingham, Ala. - The Western Carolina volleyball team opened play in the Samford Invitational Friday night, falling to Birmingham-Southern in straight sets, 3-0 (30-18, 30-21, 30-20) Friday night at Seibert Hall.

In game one, Western pulled out to an early lead until the Panthers evened things up at nine and never looked back. Birmingham-Southern (2-4) hit .314 in opening game, recording only four errors. They were led by senior Lillian Henderson with five kills on five attempts in error-free play.

The Catamounts (0-7) again came out strong in the second game, pulling out to a 5-0 lead before the Panthers rallied to tie it up at 6-6. From that point on, Birmingham-Southern never trailed again. For the third consecutive game, Western could not take advantage of an early lead, pulling ahead in the opening moments of game three before BSC again tied it up at six. The game see-sawed back-and-forth before the Panthers finished things off in what proved to be the match-winner.

Sophomore Danielle Spitzer led the Catamounts with nine kills and five block assists, while junior transfer Krista Neumann, who returned to the lineup after missing the past three matches, added eight kills. Junior Meghan Boyle continued her hot streak, recording the double-double with 26 assists and 14 digs. The Ancaster, Ontario native also added a team-high three service aces.

Senior Ellie Talbot and junior Heather Koontz each reached double-digits in digs, tallying 12 and 10, respectively in the loss.

For Birmingham-Southern, senior Jana Smelley led all hitters with 14 kills and registered only three errors for a .393 attack percentage. Henderson was also impressive, recording 12 kills and three errors on 19 attempts for a .474 percentage. Smelley also racked up 13 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.

Western continues play in the Samford Invitational on Saturday, battling the host Bulldogs at Noon (CT) and wrapping up the two-day, three-match tournament with a tilt with Fairfield College. The Catamounts and the Stags face-off at 5:00 pm (CT).