CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) volleyball team defeated Western Carolina, 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 25-23, 25-22) on Friday night in Liston B. Ramsey Regional Activity Center for its first win in The Southern Conference (SoCon) this season.

The 3-1 win over Western Carolina is the first true road win for the Spartans this season as all other away wins have come at neutral site matches.  
 
The last time the Spartans defeated the Catamounts was on Nov. 10, 2021, in Greensboro.
 
With Izora Gragg's 51 assists in the match the sophomore has now reached the 1,000 career assists milestone. According to our records, Gragg is the ninth Spartan in program history to reach 1,000 career assists. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
A kill from Western Carolina's Ali Morris put the Catamounts on the board first in the match. However, that would be the only lead the home team would have in set one as the Spartans quickly responded with a 10-4 advantage. Set one was claimed by the Spartans, 25-17 with a final kill from McKenna Timmerman coming from Gragg.
 
The Catamounts got the first point of set two, but the Spartans bounced back by taking a 7-4 lead. UNCG held the lead until Western Carolina notched a 5-0 run to take the 11-9 advantage. The remainder of set two went back-and-forth until the Catamounts posted a 4-1 run to take the 19-18 lead and hold it for the rest of the game. Western Carolina came away with the second set, 25-22 to tie the match at one set apiece.
 
The match continued to be a battle between both teams in game three, coming down to the wire. With UNCG down 22-21, a kill from Emily Hanlon, an attack error from Western Carolina and a service ace from Chloe Nussbaum gave the Spartans the 24-22 lead. A final kill from Hanlon secured set three for the Spartans, 25-23.
 
The fourth and final set was another battle until the end.. With UNCG down 16-13, the squad recorded a 6-1 run to snag a 19-17 lead over Western Carolina. The Spartans maintained the lead for the remainder of the match. An attack error from Western Carolina sealed the deal for the Spartans to take set four, 25-22 for the 3-1 win.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Allie Sweet paced the match with 18 kills.
• Hanlon followed closely behind with a new career match high of 16 kills.
• Gragg posted her fifth double-double of the season and her career with her 51 assists and adding 11 digs.
• Nussbaum led the match as the libero with 20 digs.
• Cece Fitz led the Spartans at the net with 2.0 total blocks.

RECORDS
UNCG: 6-11, 1-4 SoCon
Western Carolina: 7-9, 1-2 SoCon

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UP NEXT
The Spartans will continue on the road by taking on Chattanooga on Saturday in Maclellan Gym at 4:00 p.m.