Category: College

By Katherine Jamtgaard. FOLEY, Ala. — The App State men’s cross country team clinched back-to-back Sun Belt team titles while the women’s squad capped a sweep by securing its first team title since 2018 at the Sun Belt Cross Country Championships on Friday.

It was the first time that the Mountaineers have swept both titles in the program’s Sun Belt era. App State previously swept both league titles in 2012 as a member of the Southern Conference.

“I am extremely proud of the coaches and the team,” App State director of track & field/cross country Damion McLean said. “They have worked hard to get to this point and our coaches prepared the women and men properly for success.”

MEN’S RECAP

With five scoring runners crossing consecutively in the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth spots, the men’s squad repeated as the league champion by totaling 30 points, two points more than last year’s total of 28 (the lowest total at the Sun Belt Championships since 2013). It was the first time since the program’s six consecutive SoCon titles (from 2005 to 2010) that the App State men have recorded back-to-back titles. Six Mountaineers finished in the top 10 of Friday’s 8K race to garner all-conference honors.

We faced a lot of challenges this season, including a hurricane. These men were focused on the mission.

“We had a really great team effort and a 16-second gap from our one through five runners,” men’s distance coach Brad Herbster said. “Junior Ethan Lipham put himself in it and just stuck in earning his first all-conference spot. Redshirt junior Chase Burrell had a big day being in the top five. Redshirt senior Calbert Guest just returned and did a great job leading the two freshmen, Thomas Wlazlowski and Henry Stark, to a top-10 finish along with graduate student Ethan Turner.”

Lipham led the Mountaineers, stopping the clock at 24:40.60 to finish fourth overall. Following close behind was Burrell, finished at 24:47.20 to place fifth, and Guest, at 24:55.20.

The first freshman to cross the finish line was Stark, completing the course in 24:56.40 to record a personal-best time and a seventh-place result. Wlazlowski followed, placing eighth with a time of 24:56.90. Rounding out the top 10 was Turner, who recorded a time of 25:02.10.

“We faced a lot of challenges this fall with roster changes, sickness, some injury setbacks and the hurricane,” Herbster said. “The men stayed focused and earned back-to-back championships in a true team fashion. I want to thank our director of track & field/cross country, Damion McLean, for the support and the entire staff. I want to thank our director of athletics, Doug Gillin, and our senior associate athletics director, Erika Cheung, for attending and my wife for allowing me to put so much time into it. I’m proud of Coach (Annie) Richards and the women’s team and also want to extend my thanks to the Firetower Project for their support. Today was a true team effort.”

Freshmen Rowan Gwin and Aaron Kidd also competed for the Mountaineers, who finished 16 team points ahead of runner-up Arkansas State, which had the top two individual finishers but had its No. 3 runner place behind all five App State scorers. Arkansas State’s Jacon Pyeatt took the individual title with a time of 23:52.80.

Based on his performance, Stark was named the Sun Belt’s Freshman of the Year.

WOMEN’S RECAP

The App State women clinched the team title with 45 points, a whopping 61 fewer than runner-up Arkansas State’s total of 106, and saw four Mountaineers finish in the top 15 to earn all-conference accolades.

All fall, this group has been hardworking and trailblazing — and now they are champions.

“Winning a championship requires an entire team,” App State women’s distance coach Annie Richards said. “This fall, our whole roster helped push the eight women who competed today toward achieving this goal. Our win today is symbolic of what can happen when we all work hard together. Our approach going into competition today was to run to our strengths and compete the way that works best for our team, which meant building toward a fast finish and packing up with teammates. I am incredibly proud of this group of women. All season, this group has been hardworking and trailblazing, and now they are champions.”

Senior Jasmine Donohue, who placed third overall, was the first Mountaineer to cross the finish line with a personal-best 5K time of 17:18.85. Fellow seniors Lauren Johnston and Emma Russum clocked times of 17:43.92 and 17:46.34 to finish sixth and seventh, respectively. Senior Lana Farris finished 13th with a time of 18:01.82, and Breanna Budzinski rounded out the scoring for App State by being the first freshman across the finish line, leading to a Freshman of the Year honor from the Sun Belt. She placed 16th with a time of 18:14.25.

Senior Catherine Breault (17th) and sophomore Rhys Ammon (19th) gave App State seven finishers in the top 20. Karsyn Kane also competed for the Mountaineers.

“We have had unusual circumstances this fall with the impact and aftermath of Hurricane Helene,” Richards said. “This made a victory today more special because I know the team wanted to represent our community back home. I especially appreciated the support or our director, Coach McLean, and our director of athletics, Doug Gillin, and senior associate athletics director Erika Cheung, who all were at the course today cheering and supporting our team. Sweeping the men’s and women’s race alongside Coach Herbster was a huge accomplishment, and it’s great that our team shared in the wins.”

Marshall’s Kylee Mastin used a strong final kick to win the women’s individual crown with a 5K time of 17:06.43.

The App State sweep occurred 35 days after Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina, causing widespread damage to areas that include Boone and Watauga County.

“Please as a community do not forget about the people impacted by the hurricane and the continued support they need in western North Carolina,” Herbster said. “Sending the trophies back up the mountain is important, and if it can make people smile for a moment, we are proud of that.”

Up Next

The NCAA Southeast Regional is slated for Nov. 15 and will hosted by Winthrop in Rock Hill, S.C.

Men’s Team Standings

1. App State – 30 points
2. Arkansas State – 46 points
3. South Alabama – 100 points
4. ULM – 115 points
5. Texas State – 119 points
6. Marshall – 159 points
7. Louisiana – 163 points
8. Coastal Carolina – 189 points
9. Troy – 264 points

App State All-Conference Honorees

• First Team – Ethan Lipham
• First Team – Chase Burrell
• Second Team – Calbert Guest
• Second Team – Henry Stark
• Second Team – Thomas Wlazlowski
• Second Team – Ethan Turner
• Freshman of the Year – Henry Stark
• Elite Award – Chase Burrell

Women’s Team Standings

1. App State – 45 points
2. Arkansas State – 106 points
3. Marshall – 115 points
4. Coastal Carolina – 129 points
5. Texas State – 130 points
6. Louisiana – 132 points
7. James Madison – 136 points
8. Southern Miss – 172 points
9. South Alabama – 194 points
10. Troy – 296 points
11. ULM – 308 points
12. Georgia Southern – 322 points
13. Georgia State – 381 points

App State All-Conference Honorees

• First Team -Jasmine Donohue
• Second Team – Lauren Johnston
• Second Team – Emma Russum
• Third Team – Lana Farris
• Freshman of the Year – Breanna Budzinski

FULL INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM RESULTS

By Matt Present. BOONE, N.C. — In the final match of the regular season App State Soccer came up short against Old Dominion, falling 3-1 on Thursday at The Valley.

The Monarchs opened the scoring in the 35th minute of play. Mumu Guisasola attempted to clear the ball out of the App State goal box, but the ball bounced off her shoulder and upon review it was ruled a hand ball and a penalty kick. Gry Boe Thrysoe converted the penalty kick, placing it perfectly to the bottom right corner.

ODU doubled its lead early in the second half, as Rhea Kijowski was able to create a turnover and bury a right-footed shot into the top left corner of the net.

App State was quick to answer. Stephanie Barbosa ripped a shot to the top right corner of the goal and despite the ball bouncing off the post, Kyli Switalski was there to head home the rebound and trim the deficit to 2-1.

In the 82nd minute, Old Dominion put the game away with Grace Hillis tapping in a cross from Boe Thrysoe for her first career goal.

The Monarchs out-shot the Mountaineers 14-8, including a 7-2 advantage in shots on target. Barbosa and Ellie Garrison led the Mountaineers with two shots apiece. Sarah Wommack recorded four saves on the night.

The Mountaineers (7-6-5, 4-3-3) will be the sixth seed in the Sun Belt tournament and open tournament play on Monday at noon ET against third-seeded Texas State (10-4-5, 6-1-3). All tournament matches will be played in Foley, Ala. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

BOX SCORE

By Layne McNary. NORFOLK, Va. — The App State field hockey team fell on the road to No. 22 Old Dominion by a score of 2-1 in nonconference action on Oct. 27.

The Mountaineers’ senior Jillian Orcutt found the back of the cage for the second time this season. Claire Grenis tallied 10 saves against the Monarchs (11-5), tying her total from the Oct. 6 matchup against Liberty. The loss dropped the App State record to 9-7 overall, 6-1 in the MAC conference.

How it Happened

1st Quarter: Old Dominion opened the game quickly, scoring its first goal less than four minutes into the contest. The Mountaineers answered back four minutes later with a goal of their own, with Orcutt finding the cage for the second time in two games. The Monarchs scored a second and final goal in the period, giving them a 2-1 lead going into the second period.

2nd Quarter: It was a tighter period, with both teams generating one penalty corner apiece. Grenis tallied three saves, bringing her total up to five in the game.

3rd Quarter: The close, defensive battle continued, with App State and Old Dominion each having limited chances. Grenis tallied two more saves, keeping the Monarchs scoreless in the third. The Mountaineers were held without a shot on goal.

4th Quarter: Both teams earned shots on goal. The Mountaineers had two corners late in the contest with chances to tie the game but could not convert. Grenis tallied three more saves.

The Mountaineers return home to play another non-conference game on Friday, Nov. 1, against Queens, with a 4 p.m. scheduled start on the Dr. Jan C. Watson Field at the Brandon and Erica M. Adcock Field Hockey Complex.

By Matt Present. BOONE, N.C. – In a highly-competitive Sunday afternoon battle, App State fell 1-0 to Texas State in the penultimate regular season contest of the season.

In a game that featured 25 combined shots, neither team was able to find the net in the first 75 minutes of play. Sarah Wommack was outstanding for the Mountaineers in goal, registering six-saves, including several diving efforts to buoy her team throughout the contest.

In the 77th minute, freshman Ellie Garrison ripped a beautiful shot towards the top of the goal, but the ball bounced off the crossbar, keeping the Mountaineers (7-5-5, 4-2-3) off the scoreboard.

Less than three minutes later, Texas State cashed in. Mady Soumare fired a shot from right of the goal and Wommack was able to make the initial save. However, the rebound remained loose in front of the cage and Kaylie Smith was able to emerge from the scrum and put home the rebound to give the Bobcats (9-4-5, 5-1-3) the game-winning goal with 10 minutes to play.

Izzi Wood led the App State offense with four shots, including two on target, while Garrison added three shots and one on goal. App State’s starting lineup played all but 76 minutes in the contest, with seven players playing all 90 minutes.

App State will close out the regular season at home on Thursday, when the team hosts Old Dominion at 7 p.m. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — For many in the jam-packed Kidd Brewer Stadium on Oct. 26, the game was more about life than football.

Only a month earlier, on Sept. 27, Hurricane Helene swept through Western North Carolina, wreaking massive destruction with high winds and flooding. Just one day later, the regional carnage forced cancellation of a much anticipated home game against Liberty University. For the next two weeks, App State’s Mountaineers were out in the community, helping with recovery efforts. They were loading generators for people who had lost power. They were unloading distilled and bottled water for people with fouled water systems, whether municipal or private water wells. They were helping clean up the destruction.

 

And they prepared to play two football games, one on Oct. 5 at Marshall and then a week later, Oct. 12, at Louisiana. They lost both games, but playing them helped revive a sense of normalcy.

For the Oct. 26 home game vs. Georgia State, that sense of normalcy had spread to the better part of Watauga County and the High Country. Playing the game at Kidd Brewer Stadium instead of moving it to Wake Forest University or Charlotte (both had been considered) meant that the community’s regional infrastructure was returning to some semblance of normal. Roads were opened. Hotels and motels could accommodate the crowds. Restaurants and bars were prepared for business.

And to make it all perfect, App State played and won its first home game in 37 days with a come-from-behind touchdown no less, carving out a thrilling, 33-26 win over the visiting Panthers.

It may not have been the prettiest contest between two Sun Belt Conference adversaries sliding in the wrong direction, league standings-wise. Both programs entered the game with 2-4 overall records, and winless at 0-3 in conference play. At the end of the day, that was going to change. Someone was going to win.

With head coach Sean Clark and many others in the stadium sporting “Mountain Strong” sweatshirts, it was App State who ultimately emerged the winner of a see-saw battle to the finish. After no fewer than nine lead changes, the Mountaineers won the afternoon in the last two minutes of play when QB Joey Aguilar connected with redshirt sophomore tight end Kanen Hamlett on the right side, near the line of scrimmage. It was only the second career pass reception for the Madison, Ala. product and he made the best of it, reaching back to take the short pass from Aguilar, shaking free from one would-be tackler before dragging another into the end zone.

With Hamlett’s score giving the Mountaineers a 5-point lead at 31-26, App State’s braintrust wanted to make sure the Panthers couldn’t beat them with a final drive TD, so when Aguilar faked a handoff to Kanye Roberts and rolled right, twisting across the goal line for a successful 2-point conversion, the celebration was on.

Georgia State got the ball back with 1:15 remaining, but thanks to strong special teams coverage on the post-TD kickoff, had to start any potential game-winning drive from their own 12-yard line. A first play long pass down the right sideline made the Mountaineer faithful anxious perhaps — until linebacker Brendan Harrington swatted it away from running back Michel Dukes, the grad student transfer from the University of South Florida.

A short pass completion was not enough to move the chains and keep the Panther drive alive. After a QB sack and an incomplete pass on 4th down, the Mountaineers had the win in hand.

The game and the win probably had as much of a healing effect on the community as a FEMA grant has on financial and physical recovery.

Just as the game was a nailbiter, the stat lines reflected how close the game was. App State rolled up 479 yards of net offense, compared to 386 by Georgia State. Aguilar completed 18-of-27 passes for 299 yards, three TDs and no interceptions. While Kaedin Robinson was on the receiving end of five Aguilar aerials for 121 yards, the passing TDs were hauled in by Hamlett, freshman Makai Jackson (4 catches, 67 yards) and junior WR Dalton Stroman (2 catches, 32 yards).

What made the Mountaineers’ passing attack more effective was a strong performance running the football, too. This time, it was senior running back Ahmani Marshall, now in his third year as a Mountaineer after transferring from Wake Forest in 2022. The Winston-Salem native (East Forsyth HS) carried the ball 18 times for 115 yards and one TD.

After acknowledging the support of fans, students and interim Chancellor Heather Norris, Clark drew parallels between the community and the football team.

“Just like our community has rallied the last three or four weeks (after the hurricane-inflicted destruction), our football program has done the same thing,” said Clark. “I am proud of everyone involved in our program. Our players have never given up. We talked last night that you can’t lose something you never had. I told them we came into this season to play for a championship. What changed? We wanted to make sure we came out here with a great attitude. We played confident. We started fast and we finished strong.”

Key Notes from App State Strategic Communications

• In its first home game in 37 days and the first since Hurricane Helene hit the High Country, App State snapped a three-game losing streak and garnered its first Sun Belt victory of the season.
• App State’s 3-4 record is the same through seven games as last year’s team, which reeled off five straight victories to end the regular season.
• The Mountaineers have beaten the Panthers in all 11 meetings, dating back to 2014.
• App State improved to 98-39 since joining the FBS ranks in 2014. The only FBS programs with more wins in that span are Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia, Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Boise State.
• The Mountaineers’ home winning percentage of .833 (55-11) since 2014 ranks top 10 in the FBS and is second among non-power conference teams behind Memphis (.836 – 61-12).
• App State scored the first two points of the game on a safety on Georgia State’s first drive, the first safety recorded by the Mountaineers since 2022 (vs. Troy).
• App State lost the turnover battle for the sixth straight game.

OFFENSE

• Joey Aguilar completed 18 of 27 passes for 299 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also scored a 2-point conversion on a QB run. Over his two-year career as the Mountaineers’ QB, it was the third time he’s had three-plus TDs with no picks and the 19th time in 21 games that he’s had at least one touchdown either passing or rushing.
• Two of Aguilar’s three touchdown passes resulted in App State taking back a lead, including the game-winning drive and score late in the fourth quarter. Last year, he led the country with 15 touchdown passes to either tie a game or give his team a lead.
• Kanen Hamlett’s second career catch was a big one. His 4-yard touchdown from Aguilar with 1:51 left in the game was the winning score. Hamlett entered the huddle late in the play clock to replace another tight end who was limping off the field.
• Ahmani Marshall rushed for a season-high 115 yards with a 1-yard touchdown that gave App State an 8-3 lead with 10:28 left in the second quarter.
• Kaedin Robinson had a game-high five catches for 121 yards, his third 100-yard game of the season and sixth game of 85+ yards in seven contests. He had four catches for 106 yards by halftime.
• Robinson, who has led the team in receiving yards in all seven games, has caught a pass in 32 consecutive games, which ranks top 15 among all FBS players.
• Makai Jackson caught four passes for 67 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown that gave App State a 15-10 lead with 3:57 left in the second quarter.
• A 23-yard touchdown connection from Aguilar to Dalton Stroman increased App State’s third-quarter lead to 25-16. It was Stroman’s fourth touchdown catch in the last four games.

DEFENSE

• The Mountaineers’ defense was very strong on third downs, limiting the Panthers to just one conversion on eight attempts.
• Santana Hopper had five tackles and was credited with 2.0 sacks. That included one solo sack and a hand in two more shared sacks. His solo sack on third down forced Georgia State to kick a field goal to take a 26-25 lead with 6:39 left in the game. On the Panthers’ final drive, he teamed with Thomas Davis for a 10-yard sack on third-and-two that forced an unsuccessful fourth-and-12 try that ended the game.
• Jordan Favors led the Mountaineers with a career-high 10 tackles and broke up a pass.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• On Georgia State’s first drive, Ahmani Marshall blocked a punt that went out the back of the end zone for a safety. It was the first blocked punt by a Mountaineer since 2019 (Demetrius Taylor vs. Coastal Carolina).
• Jackson Moore made a 33-yard field goal to help the Mountaineers regain the lead six seconds before halftime.
• Kaiden Robinson had the Mountaineers’ longest punt return of the year with a 30-yard return that helped set up the team’s third touchdown drive of the game.

By Lance McNary. BOONE, N.C. – The App State field hockey team defeated the Longwood Lancers by a score of 2-0 on Oct. 25

The Mountaineers (9-6, 6-1 MAC) came into the matchup after previously defeating Ball State. With the win against Longwood (4-10, 2-5 MAC), the Mountaineers extends their home record to 6-2.

Seniors Jillian Orcutt and Grace Ball both found the back of the cage in the final period. Orcutt’s game-winning goal is the first goal of the season for her, and Ball’s lead-extending goal puts her at two on the year.

This is the sixth shutout of the season for the Mountaineers, a MAC-high.

How it Happened

1st Quarter: The game began tight for both teams, with the Mountaineers tallying three shots in the period. The Mountaineers tested Longwood goalkeeper Sophie Mooldijk one time in the period, kicking it out of the goal. Neither team generated a penalty corner in the period, and went into the second at a scoreless draw.

2nd Quarter: It was more of the same for both teams in the second, with the Lancers and Mountaineers both holding possession in the period. The Mountaineers earned two penalty corners in the period, but did not test Mooldijk on either try. The Mountaineers and the Lancers both went into the halftime break still tied at zero.

3rd Quarter: It was a tight contest in the third period, with both teams generating a penalty corner. The Mountaineers began to chip away at the Lancer defense, forcing two saves from Mooldijk in the period. The Lancers were still held without a shot in the game, and both teams went into the final period tied at zero.

4th Quarter: The Mountaineers began to pull away in the contest in the fourth, generating six corners. Orcutt scored the first goal of the season at the 51-minute mark, giving the Mountaineers a late lead in the contest. As a result of the late Orcutt goal, the Lancers subbed out Mooldijk for another offensive player. At the 58-minute mark, Ball extended the lead to two off a penalty corner, giving Noa Ginjaume Matas and Orcutt their first assists of the season. The Mountaineers went on to defeat the Lancers to a score of 2-0.

By Matt Present. TROY, Ala. — App State scored a pair of goals two minutes apart in the second half, underscoring an offensive outburst in a 4-1 win over Troy. The victory moved the Mountaineers into a tie for second place in the Sun Belt East Division.

App State (7-4-5, 4-1-3) emerged from the halftime locker room locked in a 1-1 battle, despite a decisive shooting advantage in the opening half. In the opening ten minutes of the second stanza, App State was able to turn their opportunities into conversions, jumping out to a 3-1 lead after 51 minutes of play.

Stephanie Barbosa netted the go-ahead goal and eventual game-winner in the 49th minute of play. Ellie Garrison kept the ball in bounds along the end line and lobbed a pass into the center of the box. A Troy (4-9-2, 0-7-1) defender attempted to clear, but kicked the ball right to Barbosa at the top of the box and the senior buried it into the bottom left corner of the net for her first goal of the season, putting App State ahead, 2-1.

App State outshot the Trojans 20-9 and 12-2 in shots on goal.

Two minutes later, App State padded its advantage. Barbosa collected a loose ball just beyond midfield and slotted a pass ahead to Izzi Wood, who chipped a shot past the Trojan goalkeeper despite getting sandwiched in between two defenders in the process. The goal was Wood’s 11th of the season, tying Casey Cleary (2005) and Jane Cline (2016) for the single-season scoring record. Wood has scored 10 goals in her last 11 matches.

App State finished the match outshooting the Trojans 20-9 and 12-2 in shots on goal. Wood led the way with seven shots and five on target. She was denied on several point-blank opportunities in the closing minutes of the opening half, which would’ve given the Mountaineers the lead at that point if not for exceptional goalkeeping from Troy’s Nittany Vega.

The Mountaineers opened the scoring just 12 minutes into the contest. Kyli Switalski curled in a left-footed corner kick and Sarah Widderich headed it home for her first goal of the season.

Freshman Walker Bristow capped the scoring in the 89th minute, also scoring her first collegiate goal.

App State closes out the regular season with a pair of challenging matches at home, facing West Division leader Texas State on Oct. 27 at noon, before the season finale against Old Dominion on Oct. 31, at 7 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast on ESPN+.

By Katherine Jamtgaard. BOONE, N.C. — The App State volleyball team recorded a 3-1 (25-18, 25-27, 25-21, 25-21) victory over Coastal Carolina on Oct. 24. The Mountaineers rise to 11-7 on the season and 5-2 in Sun Belt play. The win marked the Mountaineers’ first win over Coastal Carolina since the 2018 campaign.

App State returns to the court at 6 p.m. on Oct. 25 for their second match against the Chants. Friday’s match will have free food for the first 100 students. Additionally, students will earn double Yikas Rewards points. The fan zone will feature a bounce house and the match is also the Mountaineers’ Athletes Supporting Athletes match.

App State 3, Coastal Carolina 1

Five Mountaineers tallied double-figure kills, led by junior Maya Winterhoff and sophomore Ava Leahy. Both tallied 12 kills on the night. Leahy recorded a hitting percentage of .444 and led the Mountaineers in the blocks category, totaling nine. Freshmen Bella Hutchens and Elise Marchal each had 11 kills and four blocks. Marchal registered her seventh double-double on the season with a team-high 16 digs. Marking her sixth double-double this fall with a team high 43 assists and 12 digs was redshirt junior Addison Heidemann.

App State recorded 58 kills compared to Coastal Carolina’s 48. The Mountaineers also outpaced the Chants in assists (50-43), digs (61-51), and aces (8-5).

The Mountaineers and Chanticleers fought through a tight first set, knotting the score six times and trading the lead three times. The Mountaineers took a 15-13 lead after a kill from Marchal and back-to-back kills from Winterhoff. As the Chants cut the deficit to one, a Chanticleer error and Marchal ace pulled the Mountaineers ahead, 18-15. App State went on a 5-0 run that featured a kill from Hutchens, an ace from sophomore Caroline Farthing, and a block from the duo of Leahy and Heidemann, to take a 23-16 lead. Heidemann set Ambrose up for a kill, bringing the Mountaineers to set point. Another kill from Ambrose sealed the set for the Mountaineers, 25-18.

Early in the second set, Coastal Carolina took a 10-6 lead, but the Mountaineers went on a 6-0 run that featured kills from Hutchens, Heidemann, and Leahy, as well as a block from the duo of Hutchens and Leahy to edge ahead 12-10. Leahy, Winterhoff, and Ambrose made kills to extend App State’s lead to 16-12. With a pair of runs, Coastal took a slight edge, but the Mountaineers regained the lead with kills from Hutchens and Leahy. Kills from Marchal and Leahy put the Mountaineers up 24-23, but the Chants managed to seal the set, 27-25.

Heidemann set Winterhoff up for the first kill of the third set. Coastal Carolina took an early edge, but the Mountaineers managed to tie things up at 15 all after a 3-0 run that included a kill from Marchal and a block by Hutchens and Leahy. The Mountaineers jumped ahead, 21-17 with a 6-0 run, building off a trio of consecutive kills from Hutchens, a kill from Leahy, and blocks from the duo of Hutchens and Leahy, and the duo of Leahy and Heidemann. A kill from Ambrose followed by an ace from junior Kenady Roper brought App State to set point, 24-19. Despite holding the Mountaineers to two set points, an Ambrose kill clinched the set, 25-21, for App State.

App State opened the fourth and final set with a block from Marchal and Winterhoff. Building off a block from Leahy and Marchal, a Marchal ace, and a block by Leahy and Heidemann, the Mountaineers pulled ahead, 7-4. Another 3-0 run that included kills from Leahy and Ambrose, as well as a block from the duo, extended App State’s lead to 10-5. As Coastal worked to close the deficit, the Mountaineers went on a 4-0 run that consisted of a Winterhoff kill and a trio of consecutive kills from Marchal. Another 4-0 run featuring a block from the duo of Hutchens and Winterhoff, kills from Leahy and Marchal, and an ace from Winterhoff pushed App State ahead, 21-14. Leahy slammed down two more kills to extend the lead to 23-17. Despite a late surge from the Chanticleers, App State took the set, 25-21, and the match 3-1, after a Coastal Carolina service error.

By Katherine Jamtgaard. BOONE, N.C. — The App State volleyball team split its weekend against Georgia Southern, falling short in four sets (25-23, 23-25, 21-25, 18-25) in Saturday’s Pink Day match after edging past the Eagles in five sets on Friday.

“I am glad we walked away with the weekend split. Georgia Southern is a great team and we battled hard,” said head coach Sarah Rumely Noble. “We are walking away from the weekend confident and hungry.”

Georgia Southern 3, App State 1

Junior Maya Winterhoff led the Mountaineers in kills (13) and blocks (4). Freshman Bella Hutchens recorded a new career high with 12 digs, while senior Lulu Ambrose recorded 10 kills. In the assists category, redshirt junior Addison Heidemann registered 38 of the Mountaineers’ 44 assists. Junior Kenady Roper led the team with 18 digs, followed by freshman Elise Marchal, who recorded 15 digs and was one kill away from her seventh double-double of the year. Winterhoff, Marchal, and sophomore Caroline Farthing, served up an ace apiece for the Mountaineers.

In the first set, App State (10-7, 4-2 SBC) went on a 6-0 run that included a kill from sophomore Ava Leahy, three consecutive kills from Winterhoff, a solo block from Winterhoff, and a kill from Heidemann, to take an early 6-2 lead. A kill from Marchal and back-to-back kills from Hutchens extended the lead to 10-4. Georgia Southern managed to cut the deficit to one, but the Mountaineers extended their lead to 20-17, building off kills from Ambrose and Winterhoff, as well as a block from the duo of Marchal and Winterhoff. Heidemann set Marchal up for a kill, which was followed by an Eagle error that put the Black and Gold ahead 23-20. A kill from Hutchens brought the Mountaineers to set point (24-21), and despite holding the Mountaineers to two set points, a kill from Ambrose sealed the set for App State, 25-23.

The Mountaineers and Eagles knotted the score twice and swapped the lead twice in the second set. After steadily chipping away at Georgia Southern’s lead throughout the set, App State managed to take a 21-20 edge with a 4-0 run that included back-to-back kills from Marchal and a kill from Winterhoff. Another kill from Winterhoff broke a 21-21 tie, giving the Mountaineers a 22-21 edge. Georgia Southern reached set point with a 3-0 run. A block from Marchal and Leahy held the Eagles to set point, but Georgia Southern took the set, 25-23.

In the third set, the Eagles jumped to an early lead. App State steadily worked to close the deficit over the course of the set and managed to cut the deficit down to one at 19-18 with a 4-0 run that included a kill from Ambrose. Despite kills from Winterhoff, Ambrose, and Hutchens, the Eagles took the set, 25-21.

In the fourth and final set, App State and Georgia Southern tied on five occasions and traded the lead twice once more. The Eagles took the lead after a 6-0 run, but the Mountaineers chipped away at the deficit with kills from Ambrose, Winterhoff, Hutchens, and Leahy. Down, 22-14, the Mountaineers saw back-to-back kills from Marchal as well as an Eagle error to cut the deficit to 22-17. Despite a last kill from Marchal, set up by Heidemann, the Eagles took the set, 25-18, and the match, 3-1.

Looking Ahead

The Mountaineers will host Coastal Carolina on Oct. 24 and 25. Both matches are slated for 6 p.m. first serves and will be available to stream on ESPN+.