By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — In a match that was tied 31 times with 17 actual lead changes across four sets, App State emerged the victor against in-state, non-conference rival Davidson on Sept. 21, 3-1 (23-25, 25-21. 25-20, 25-18).
Th Mountaineers had to overcome a ferocious offensive attack by the Wildcats, led by 6-0 junior outside hitter Elena Garcia-Guerrios and 6-1 junior middle blocker Mia Compas. A native of Manati, Puerto Rico, Garcia-Guerrios recorded 26 kills on the afternoon, on a staggering 63 attacks. Compas, a native of Carlsbad, Calif., added 11 kills on 26 attacks.
App State countered with sophomore libero MeMe Davis’ and senior outside hitter Ali Morris’ 24 and 12 digs, respectively, to keep the ball in play. While the Wildcats’ offensive prowess seemed to be centered on Garcia-Guerrios and Compas, the overall defensive skills of the Mountaineers set up a multi-faceted attack spread across five key players, including Morris (12 kills), senior middle blocker Maya Winterhoff (10 kills), sophomore outside hitter Bella Hutchens (10 kills), senior outside hitter Keionna Mackey (9 kills), and sophomore middle blocker Lou Johnson (6 kills).
If, as the old saying goes, “Variety is the spice of life,” then an offensive volleyball attack that could come from any direction at any time is a winning strategy. The focal point of App State’s spreading the ball around comes down to the setting abilities of redshirt senior setter, Addison Heidemann, who recorded 38 assists spread across the four sets.
Sunday’s encounter with Davidson concludes the non-conference schedule for the Mountaineers’ 2025 campaign. The finish with a commendable 9-2 record, which included Power Four wins over Duke (3-1) and Virginia (3-2), as well as tight losses to Michigan State (2-3) and North Carolina (1-3).
“Our non-conference schedule was tough and Davidson was a part of that equation. They are a great program,” said App State head coach Chad Sutton afterwards. “We knew it was going to be a battle. The pass well. They serve well. The defend well. They are a physical team with low errors. They have a couple of players over there who are studs. We knew it was going to be a battle and that was what you saw on the court.”
For Sutton and his Mountaineers, they now face a new season.
“The non-conference season doesn’t matter. We have a new season and we want to win every season. The non-conference season for us is about learning ourselves, learning our team, especially with a new (coaching) staff. We had to do a lot of learning during non-conference. Now we have a pretty good idea of everything and we need to refine and fine tune, make a couple of tweaks, hone in and get a little bit better on a couple of our skills,” said Sutton.
Morris, who had a double-double on the day with a dozen kills to go with 12 digs, also talked about the “new season” in speaking with High Country Sports after the match.
“It has been a challenging non-conference schedule and the only two losses being against Power Four schools, Michigan State and North Carolina, that’s incredible,” said Morris. “All of those early games prepared us so well for conference play. Davidson had really good ball control and they were super scrappy. You hit somewhere and they are most likely going to show up there. We love close games and nailbiters to five sets around here, but it was good to get this one in four.”
In his first year leading the Mountaineer volleyball program, Sutton didn’t hesitate in answering a question about his thoughts in taking the App State job.
“Being 9-2 helps!” he said with a broad smile and chuckles from those around him. “Seriously, though, the only challenge in making this decision was our having a baby as I was getting hired in April, so now just five months old. I’m a Florida guy, so I know that snow might be tough, but that was not a factor (in the decision). This team, though, the girls are flying around, making it a lot easier on us as a staff in our transition here. Everybody wants to win.
“The biggest challenge,” he added, “… anytime you take a new job there is an onboarding process. You are new to the area. Outside of the job you have to learn how to function in the community, what your routines are going to be. Add in what your routines are going to be in the job, as well… it is a lot all at once, especially with a new baby. So our challenge has been to get organized quickly on a crammed timeline. Being an April hire, everything is condensed. You have to get organized quick while raising a child for the first time in your life. But this team and this community has been great, making it all easier.”
Sutton and staff will take the Mountaineers into the new, Sun Belt Conference season against James Madison on Friday, Sept. 26, with first serve scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Holmes Convocation Center. They will play the Dukes again on Sept. 27, in a 2 p.m. affair before traveling the following weekend to face Louisiana on Oct. 3 (7 p.m, Eastern time) and Sept. 4 (2 p.m. ET).
BOX SCORE
BONUS PHOTOS (Click on any image for larger size and Slide Show mode)
All photographic images by David Rogers for High Country Sports
