GREENSBORO, N.C. – Fans attending Tuesday night's Southern Conference volleyball match between UNCG and Western Carolina inside Fleming Gymnasium saw just about everything possible as the Catamounts escaped Greensboro with a 3-2 (25-18, 25-22, 22-25, 18-25, 26-24) victory. The Blue and Gold nearly completed a comeback from down 0-2 in the match and 14-10 in the fifth frame but Western held on in the end.

The 26-24 score in the fifth frame set a program single-match record for the most combined points in a deciding set as well as the most by the Spartans. Additionally, redshirt junior middle hitter Julia Westerbur broke the school five-set match record for hitting percentage with a .609 mark (15k/1e/23ta).

A number of UNCG players set personal bests in the contest. In the kill column it was senior middle hitter Kelsey Sidney and freshman outside hitter Ashley Muench with 19 and Westerbur with 15 while sophomore setter Sarah Hohman dished out 61 assists and Muench racked up 27 digs.

A trio of Spartans ended up with double-doubles in sophomore outside hitter Jessica Brezwyn (12 kills / 15 digs), Hohman (61 assists / 21 digs) and Muench (19 kills / 27 digs). Defensively, junior libero Katherine Santiago matched her season high in digs with 30.

UNCG hurt itself with offensive errors, committing 44 of them to end up with a .145 (78k/44e/234ta) hitting percentage. The Catamounts were only slightly better, checking in at .151 (51k/21e/199ta). The Spartans out-dug Western 117-97 but the Catamounts had the better of the blocking 14.0 – 10.0. UNCG did itself no favors in the deciding set, hitting just .140 while Western Carolina fired at a .240 clip.

The Blue and Gold fell behind right from the start of set one as the Catamounts led 4-2 after a Jordan Timmerman ace. The Spartans called timeouts trailing 12-8 and 18-14 but could not stop Western's momentum. The Catamounts would go on to win the stanza 25-18.

Things looked better for UNCG in set two as a kill by Sidney made the score 10-6 in the Spartans' favor. However, UNCG committed five-straight attacking errors to watch a four-point lead turn into an 11-11 deadlock. Western Carolina led 15-13 after a solo block by Katie O'Connor and would extend the advantage to 20-17 following a kill by Addy George. Errors continued to plague the home team down the stretch as the Catamounts headed into intermission with a 2-0 lead after winning the second frame 25-22.

Looking to extend the match, UNCG built leads of 10-7 and 18-12 in the third before Western Carolina mounted a rally. The Catamounts went on a 10-4 run to pull even at 22 but the Spartans recovered and used two kills and a Western service error to clinch the set by a 25-22 margin.

In the fourth stanza, UNCG broke a 3-3 deadlock with four-straight points to establish some breathing room at 7-3. An attacking error by Timmerman afforded the Spartans a 12-7 lead after which the Catamounts called for timeout. UNCG rolled to end of the set, leading 18-11 and 23-14 before closing it out 25-18.

The marathon fifth set started out with the Spartans leading 5-3 after a service error by Timmerman. A kill by Westerbur kept UNCG ahead 9-7 before Western stunned the Spartans with a 7-1 to reach match point at 14-10. The Blue and Gold cranked up the offense to stay in it, using five-straight kills to take a match point of its own at 15-14. Timmerman came through with a kill to tie it at 15 but Muench responded with a kill to put the Spartans on the brink of victory once more. George saved the Catamounts with a kill to knot the score at 16. Neither team would surrender for a while but a service error by Christina Nazario resulted in the last tie of the match at 24 points apiece before a pair of UNCG errors gave Western Carolina the set and the match by a 26-24 margin.

The Spartans return to the road this weekend, beginning with a Friday match at Chattanooga. First serve at Maclellan Gymnasium is slated for 6 p.m.

Follow the UNCG volleyball team all season by logging on to www.uncgspartans.com and following the Spartans' official Twitter accounts @UNCGVB and @uncgsports.