May 8, 2002
Cullowhee, N.C. - The Western Carolina University volleyball team wrapped up their annual spring schedule with four straight tournament matches beginning March 30 and ending on April 20. Overall, the team went 18-13 in games played and were the champions of the tournament at UNC-Asheville on the 20th.
Their first tournament took them to UNC-Charlotte where they faced Radford, the 49er alumni team, Winthrop and Georgia State. WCU beat Radford and the Charlotte alumni team handily, winning 2-0 in both matches. They split games with Winthrop and Georgia State, 1-1 both times. Tricia Eble had an impressive debut in the middle position after moving over from the right side. Stefanie Peters did not miss a jump serve the entire day and the team as a whole missed only three serves. Head Coach Michelle Hansen was very pleased with her team's competitiveness.
The team's second tournament was at Clemson University where they faced the College of Charleston, Clemson and Wofford. This was a "best-of-three" tournament with the teams facing a playoff later in the day. Unfortunately for the Catamounts, middle blocker Sara Komosinski tore her finger on the net during practice before the first game, so she was forced to sit out in the 0-2 loss to College of Charleston. Michelle Gorton stepped up in the middle to replace her and did a fine job. Although Komosinski came back for the Clemson match, the Tigers proved to be too strong, beating the Lady Cats 0-2. Western answered back against Wofford in the third match taking two games from the Terriers.
Peters did a great job in the match offensively for the Cats and Layna Stoetzel did a great job blocking on the right side. Both athletes were eventually recognized by coach Hansen as co-Most Improved Players in the spring for their efforts. Unfortunately for Western, they faced Wofford again in the playoffs and got caught flat-footed, losing 1-2. The Clemson Tigers were the tournament champions.
"Compared to last week, I felt our competitiveness was lacking," said coach Hansen about her team's play. "We made a lot of young mental errors."
Next, the Catamounts hosted the WCU alumni, Gardner-Webb, UT-Chattanooga and Troy State in a round-robin tournament on April 13. It was the first tournament for new assistant coach Rob Lutz from Signal Hill, Ca. WCU split the first match with the alumni, 1-1, before beating Gardner-Webb convincingly, 2-0. They split their final two matches against UTC and Troy State, 1-1 both times. Komosinski dominated the net all day. However, a lack of consistent ball control kept the Lady Cats from controlling all matches for the day.
"Overall, I was happy with the team's level of intensity and competitiveness," said Hansen. "Michelle Gorton really went after it offensively and hit some of the hardest balls I've ever seen her hit."
In the final spring tournament, WCU traveled to Asheville to take on UNC-Asheville and Davidson. It was a "pool play" tournament in which everyone split their games, 1-1. The teams were then seeded according to points and Western allowed the fewest number of points scored against them. This earned the Catamounts the number one seed in the playoffs giving them a first-round bye. WCU went on to defeat Asheville, 2-0, to become the tournament champions.
"I was very pleased with the progress we made this spring," said Hansen. "This was a great opportunity for our younger players to gain valuable experience out on the floor. I feel like this core group of returners solidified as a team this spring and will be more than ready for the challenges they will face next fall."
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