CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Spartan volleyball defeated the Western Carolina Catamounts 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-18) on Friday evening at the Ramsey Center on Western Carolina's campus.  With the win, UNCG improves to 13-10 overall, and 7-3 in the Southern Conference.  WCU falls to 8-16, and 3-8 in SoCon play.  The Spartans have now won seven of their last eight matches, including five-straight. 

Junior Ashley Muench (Hurdle Mills, N.C./Orange) led all competitors with 16 kills, hitting at a .375 average in the match.  Alexis Mourier (Elkview, W.Va./George Washington) added nine kills, with Jasmine Jones (Stafford, Va./Brook Point) adding eight. 

Christina Gregory (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy) led the match with 20 digs.  Allison Penner (Aurora, Neb./Aurora) added 10 digs, and distributed 37 assists in the match. 

The first set was close, with each team earning 20 points before the Spartans scored back-to-back points forcing the Catamounts to call their first timeout.  UNCG scored three of the final five points to take the first set.  Mourier added a pair of kills, and a Western Carolina attack error gave the Spartans the win.

The second set started 8-8, when the Spartans used a 5-1 run to take its largest lead of the evening at that point, 14-10.  A pair of kills from Anna Romaniszyn (Port Orange, Fla./Spruce Creek), along with a block and a kill from Jones contributed to the run.  The Catamounts pulled within one at 15-14, before a quick 3-1 UNCG run forced WCU to call a timeout.  Western Carolina was able to cut the Spartan lead down to one on three occasions down the stretch before the Spartans put the set away on a Muench kill. 

UNCG trailed 10-9 in the final set, before going on a 4-0 run to take a 13-10 lead, forcing Western Carolina to call its first timeout.  The timeout didn't slow the Spartans too much, as they continued their run to go up 17-11.  In total, the Spartans used an 8-1 run to take the six-point lead. Down the stretch, UNCG led by as many as eight points and the closest the Catamounts could come was within six, at 21-15.

UNCG returns to action tomorrow night at 5:00 against SoCon-leading ETSU at home in Fleming Gymnasium. 

-UNCG-