By Layne McNary. BOONE, N.C. – The App State field hockey team defeated the Davidson Wildcats, 7-3, in its Sept. 7 home opener.
The Mountaineers (3-0) never trailed.
Sophia Baxter, Lise Boekaar and Baylie Phillips all scored, propelling the Mountaineers to their third straight non-conference win.
Boekaar was a force on offense, tallying four goals and an assist in the victory. The assist pushes her to second all-time in career assists and ties her for sixth in single-season assists with eight.
How It Happened
1st Quarter: The Mountaineers started with an offensive flurry, scoring two goals in the opening period. Boekaar scored from a penalty stroke, while Baxter notched the second goal off a deflection, also from Boekaar. The Mountaineers generated two corners and two shots on goal.
2nd Quarter: Baxter scored her second goal of the day and third of the season. Despite the Mountaineers conceding a goal late in the period, App State held a 3-1 lead at halftime.
3rd Quarter: The Wildcats (1-3) opened the period with a goal, pushing them within a single score of tying. Boekaar answered with her second goal of the game shortly after, extending the Mountaineers’ lead back to two. With one more goal from Davidson in the period, the Mountaineers led 4-3 heading into the final quarter.
4th Quarter: The Mountaineers offense exploded once again. Phillips scored her second goal of the season before Boekaar scored the last two for App State. One came off a penalty stroke and the other from a penalty corner, giving the Mountaineers a 7-3 win over the Wildcats.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will hit the road to take on Queens University on Tuesday. First touch is slated for 3 p.m. in Charlotte, N.C.
By Matt Present. FARMVILLE, Va. — Graduate forward Izzi Wood scored two goals in the second half, rallying App State Soccer to a 3-2 road victory over Longwood and closing out nonconference play.
It was the fifth brace of Wood’s career and her 27th and 28th career goals moved her into second place in App State scoring history.
With the score tied 2-2 in the 66th minute, freshman defender Morgan Chapman played a ball up the far sideline to Shannon Studer at midfield. The senior midfielder gathered in the pass, turned and swung her leg into a long ball ahead to Wood, who ran onto it and delivered the go-ahead goal just under the crossbar.
Wood tied the game with a penalty kick in the 58th minute after a Longwood (3-4-1) defender committed a handball in the box.
App State (4-3) scored the first goal of the game in the 10th minute of play. Sophomore midfielder Walker Bristow curled a corner kick towards the net and Lancer goalkeeper Sara Curtis punched the ball away, but it ended up right at the feet of Olivia Simon — and the junior midfielder from Waxhaw, N.C. converted from point-blank range for her first goal of the season.
Longwood answered quickly, scoring just 10 seconds later, then took back the lead on a penalty kick after drawing a foul in the box less than two minutes later.
The Mountaineers looked to have the equalizer in the 34th minute of play, but Simon was whistled for offsides on the play.
Wood led the Mountaineers with eight shots (three on target), while senior Reagan Sturgill added three shots in her first career start. Chapman, Ellie Garrison and Maddie Williams played all 90 minutes for App State.
The Mountaineers will open conference play on Sept. 13, as the team stays on the road to face Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
By David Rogers. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Not even a lightning storm could energize this game. Hardly a growl, much less a roar Sept. 7 on at least one side of the football field as the Jacksonville Jaguars muzzled the Carolina Panthers, 26-10.
While Jacksonville at least showed some promise of better things to come under new head coach Liam Coen, especially given running back Travis Etienne’s 143 yards rushing on 16 carries, neither side looked ready to compete for a Super Bowl championship. Just to illustrate how abysmal were the Panthers, the Jaguars won — but had to overcome three turnovers (2 fumbles, 1 interception) and 11 drive-killing penalties that set them back 93 yards. Almost half of Jacksonville’s points came from field goals: placekicker Cam Little was 4-for-4 on field goal attempts from 35, 47, 36, and 28 yards.
Hunter Renfrow caught two passes for Carolina at Jacksonville on Sept. 7, 2025, extending his comeback story. Photo courtesy of the Carolina Panthers
Meanwhile, Carolina managed a mere 255 total net yards, 142 passing and 113 rushing. About the best thing to describe the Panthers’ offensive performance: it was balanced failure. Now in his third year as QB with arguably more offensive weapons around him, Bryce Young completed 18 of 35 passes for 154 yards, one TD vs. two interceptions. Add a lost fumble, and Young was responsible for three drive-killing turnovers.
There were few bright spots in the Panthers’ Game 1 performance:
Rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan pulled in five Young passes for 68 yards, exhibiting the promise that made him the 2025 NFL Draft’s No. 8 pick, overall. It is small sample size, but he looks like a keeper.
With 41 seconds to go in the first quarter, rookie placekicker was good on a 48-yard field goal, his only opportunity.
Chuba Hubbard caught three passes for 32 yards, one a 27-yarder for Carolina’s only TD with under 5 minutes remaining in the game. He also rushed for 57 yards on 16 carries (avg. 3.6), his longest for just 9 yards.
Jacksonville bright spots, giving hope that new head coach Liam Coen is bringing some offensive credibility:
Running back Travis Etienne’s 16 carries for 143 yards rushing (avg. 8.9), adding 3 pass receptions for 13 yards.
Tight end Brenton Strange continued to be a key contributor, catching all four of his targets for 59 yards, his longest going for 24 yards.
Wide receiver Brian Thomas, Jr. only caught one pass for 11 yards, out of seven targets. It was a lackluster day for the much ballyhooed playmaker, although enhanced by one rush for a 9-yard TD late in the second quarter.
The Jaguars signed Hunter Long in the offseason primarily as a blocking tight end but he came to fore on this day by catching a short, 6-yard TD pass from QB Trevor Lawrence midway through the second quarter. What’s particularly interesting is during Coen’s tenure as offensive coordinator last year with Tampa Bay, involving the tight ends other than blocking were rare, so to see both Strange and Long as key playmakers against Carolina could signal a shift in coach-think, perhaps influenced by the hiring of new offensive coordinator Grant Udinski after his three years on the Minnesota Vikings’ staff.
Placekicker Cam Little’s four field goals on four attempts
UP NEXT
Carolina travels to Arizona to play the Cardinals. Kickoff @ 4:05 p.m. EDT., Sept. 11.
Jacksonville plays @ Cincinnati, with a 1:05 p.m. kickoff scheduled against the Bengals.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Every win in college football is a good win — but shouldn’t this one have been cleaner and more dominating?
After a 74-yard touchdown pass from redshirt junior QB AJ Swann to redshirt senior wide receiver Dalton Stroman on the first play of the football game, App State fell mostly flat, clearly not living up to expectations in a 20-13 win over a tiny FCS opponent in Lindenwood, the St. Charles, Mo. school with an enrollment of just 7,500 and recently elevated from NCAA Division II to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) of NCAA Division I.
App State defenders Thomas Davis (15) and Dylan Manuel (9) jump for joy after QB sack of Nate Glantz vs. Lindenwood on Sept. 6. Photo by David Katzenmaier, courtesy of App State Athletics
The Mountaineers’ offense produced 503 yards of total offense but somehow survived four turnovers (3 fumbles and an interception), as many as a dozen dropped or errantly thrown passes, and a teamwide nine penalties for 80 yards.
Six of those penalties were on the offense, five of them pre-snap (false start and illegal formations), in the first, third and fourth quarters.
A Look Back to the Future?
In the mid-2000s and even the early days of FBS, App State was the 2025 edition of Lindenwood football: wannabe giant killers, the game underdogs who played bigger than their reality and reputation. They didn’t back down from Michigan in the Big House, in 2007. Fast forward to 2016 when they lost to Tennessee in overtime; to 2018, when they took Penn State to OT; to 2019, when the Mountaineers defeated both North Carolina and South Carolina on the road; to 2022, when the Boone boys trekked to College Station and upset Texas A&M; and to thrilling, one-score losses to North Carolina in 2022 and 2023.
Those Mountaineer exploits aptly describe the Lindenwood Lions on this day, against arguably the most talented App State team in years thanks to the transfer portal and an NFL-pedigreed coaching staff.
Wide receiver Jaden Barnes (15) gathers in an AJ Swann pass for App State vs. Lindenwood on Sept. 6, at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Photo by Jon Pearl, courtesy of App State Athletics
Lindenwood redshirt senior quarterback Nate Glantz, a 2024 transfer into the Lions program from McNeese State, spent the 2022 season on the Iowa State roster after earning National Junior College Player of the Year honors as a freshman quarterback at Iowa Western Community College. Against the Mountaineers in front of a sold-out Kidd Brewer Stadium, Glantz was his grittiest, completing six big pass plays to help keep the Lions in the game.
None of those plays were bigger than on 4th-and-14, with 3:47 remaining in the game and trailing App State, 20-6. Glantz took the snap from center, eluded would-be tacklers going backwards to midfield, rolled right and heaved a 50-yard pass to the end zone where wide receiver Rico Bond outjumped three Mountaineer defenders for a TD. The play and subsequent PAT brought the Lions to within a touchdown of their hosts, 20-13.
Lindenwood was successful on an onside kick attempt and with 3:28 remaining with good field position at the App State 46-yard line, the Lions had a sniff of a potential upset, Mountaineer-style.
Once again, though, the App State defense came to the fore. On 4th-and-7, Glantz ran out of miracles. Under pressure, he rolled right and made a desperation heave that was picked off by redshirt junior defensive back Elijah McCantos, a 2024 transfer from Illinois.
With under two minutes remaining, App State’s offense just had to make one first down before running out the clock.
Credit the Mountaineer Defense
Although App State senior running back Rashon Dubinion carried the ball 25 times for 194 yards rushing and redshirt senior wide receiver Dalton Stroman caught three passes for 141 yards and the game’s opening TD, while redshirt junior QB AJ Swann completed 19 of 36 passes for 294 yards and a pair of TDs, it is hard to overlook the four turnovers, dropped passes, errant throws and pre-snap penalties. What seemed to be a key turning point was early in the first quarter, when a Lindenwood defender punched the ball out of the arms of Stroman just before he crossed the goal line after his second long reception.
It was a packed house at Kidd Brewer Stadium for the 2025 home opener vs. Lindenwood. Photo by Joel Franquiz, courtesy of App State Athletics
Often put in difficult situations, the Mountaineer defense won the day and turned back the Glantz-led Lindenwood offense for most of the game, even forcing a pair of Lion turnovers. Altogether, the Mountaineer defense rolled up 16 tackles for loss, 7 pass breakups, 10 QB hurries, and 8 QB sacks to complement a forced fumble and two pass interceptions.
To be sure, App State head coach Dowell Loggains will have plenty of teaching opportunities next week as the Mountaineers prepare for their Sun Belt Conference opener at Southern Miss on Sept. 13, before a bye week ahead of more non-conference action on the road at Boise State (Sept. 27), then back home to face Oregon State on Oct. 4.
By Katherine Jamtgaard. CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The App State volleyball team posted its first program victory over Virginia, 3-2 (25-14, 25-23, 23-25, 24-26, 16-14) on Saturday and rose to 6-0 on the season. Saturday’s victory at the Cavalier Classic also marked the Mountaineers’ first win over an ACC team since 2015, when the Black and Gold swept Clemson.
App State started strong, taking the first two sets before Virginia stormed back to take the third and fourth set. The Mountaineers’ true grit showed in the fifth and final set as they fought off several Cavalier match points with a late 5-0 run to clinch the match.
“We had a tremendous weekend in Charlottesville with two five-set victories over very tough teams,” said head coach Chad Sutton. “This marks the second tournament championship in as many weeks. Our women competed hard and never gave up. No matter what the situation was, they continued to climb and push forward. I could not be more proud to coach these women and excited to be heading home as winners.”
A trio of Mountaineers collected Cavalier Classic All-Tournament Team honors, led by senior Maya Winterhoff, who earned her second MVP honor of the season. The Charlottesville, Va. native slammed down 30 kills (3.0 k/s) on a clip of .538 on the weekend and went up for 12 blocks (one solo, 11 assist). Joining Winterhoff on the all-tournament team as key contributors were junior Maria Contreras and redshirt sophomore Delanie Grevengoed. Contreras tallied 28 assists (2.8 a/s), 17 kills with a hitting percentage of .324, seven blocks, and five digs. Grevengoed made 15 kills for the Black and Gold and went up for five blocks.
App State 3, Virginia 2
Against Virginia, a quartet of Mountaineers made double-figure kills, led by Winterhoff who tallied 16 on a hitting percentage of .452. Fellow senior Ali Morris made 15 kills and served up three of App State’s six aces. Contreras, who matched with sophomore Bella Hutchens with 10 kills apiece, registered her first double-double of the season with 16 assists. Redshirt senior Addison Heidemann notched her 12th career double-double with a team-high 24 assists and 10 digs. Junior Caroline Farthing made a team-high 11 digs, while sophomore MeMe Davis and freshman Bella Dafforn each made 10. App State outpaced Virginia in kills (62-53) and assists (56-51). The Mountaineers also held the Cavaliers to a hitting percentage of .147.
The Mountaineers were quick to erase a 6-2 deficit in the first set with a 5-0 run, which featured kills from Morris and Contreras. Building off a pair of Contreras kills, a Morris kill, and a block from the duo of Contreras and Winterhoff, App State took an 11-7 lead. With a late 7-1 surge that included kills from Hutchens, Morris, and Winterhoff, as well as a pair of Morris aces, the Black and Gold secured the first set, 25-14. Over the duration of the first set, the Mountaineers recorded a team hitting percentage of .367.
App State’s momentum carried into the second set as the Black and Gold jumped to a 4-1 lead with kills from junior Akila Hardie, Morris, and an ace from Davis. Building off a pair of Winterhoff kills, a Morris ace, and a block from the duo of Contreras and Winterhoff, the Mountaineers extended the lead to 10-5. The Cavaliers managed to catch up to the Mountaineers and take a 20-18 edge. With a trio of kills from Morris, Winterhoff, and Heidemann, App State edged ahead, 23-22. A kill from Winterhoff and Cavalier error sealed the set for the Mountaineers, 25-23.
In the third set, the Mountaineers and Cavaliers tied on nine occasions and swapped the lead five times. Late in the set, App State broke a 17-17 tie with a Morris kill and Dafforn ace. Virginia managed to reach set point with a 3-0 run, and despite a kill from Grevengoed, the Cavaliers flipped the script and took the set, 25-23.
The Mountaineers took an early 5-1 lead in the fourth set as Heidemann set Hardie and Winterhoff up for kills. The Cavaliers answered with an 8-1 run for the only lead change in the set. App State managed to catch Virginia at 23 all after a block from the duo of Hardie and Grevengoed and a kill from Morris, but Virginia managed to take the set, 26-24.
Much like the fourth set, App State started the fifth with a 5-1 run as Grevengoed, Winterhoff, and Morris slammed down kills. A trio of kills from Hutchens knotted the score on three occasions as the Cavaliers tried to establish a lead. Virginia managed to pull ahead with a 4-1 run to reach set and match point (14-11). The Mountaineers answered with a 5-0 run that featured a pair of Contreras kills and a block from the duo of Contreras and Winterhoff, to snatch the set 16-14 and the win, 3-2, from the Cavaliers. During the fifth set, App State maintained a team hitting percentage of .375.
Looking Ahead
The Mountaineers will head to Kennesaw, Ga. for the Kennesaw State Invitational on Sept. 12 and 13. App State will take on Michigan State at 2 p.m. on Friday. Saturday’s match against Kennesaw State is set for noon and will be available to stream on ESPN+.
By Katherine Jamtgaard. CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The App State volleyball team rose to 5-0 on the season after a gritty, come-from-behind 3-2 (27-25, 21-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-6) victory over VCU at the Cavalier Classic on Friday. It marks the Mountaineers’ third five-set victory of the 2025 campaign.
App State 3, VCU 2
A trio of Mountaineers slammed down double-figure kills against the Rams, led by senior Ali Morris, who tallied 15. Fellow senior Maya Winterhoff made 14 kills on a clip of .667, in addition to a team-high eight blocks (one solo, seven assists). For a second consecutive match, sophomore Delanie Grevengoed recorded 10 kills and a hitting percentage of .400. Three Mountaineers also tallied double-figure assists, led by redshirt senior Addison Heidemann, who made 24 assists. Sophomore MeMe Davis posted the Mountaineers’ first double-double of the season and her career with a team-high 16 digs and 15 assists. Junior Maria Contreras tallied 12 assists. Heidemann, Davis and sophomore Bella Hutchens combined for six of App State’s eight kills, each contributing two.
The Rams established an early, 15-8 lead in the first set but the Mountaineers steadily chipped away at the deficit. Building off kills from Morris, Contreras and Winterhoff, as well as a block from the duo of Contreras and Winterhoff, App State narrowed the deficit to 17-15. VCU managed to reach set point, 24-20, but the Black and Gold answered with a 5-0 run to take a 25-24 edge. Davis secured the set, 27-25, with a kill.
App State and VCU knotted the score 17 times and swapped the lead on five occasions in the second set. As the Rams took a 22-19 lead, a kill from Morris and a solo block from Winterhoff brought the Mountaineers within one of the Rams’ late lead, but VCU eventually recovered and took the set, 25-21.
The Mountaineers managed to tie the score twice in the third set, but the Rams’ momentum from the previous set carried into the third. Down 23-17, App State went on a 6-0 run that featured kills from Morris, Grevengoed and Winterhoff, as well as back-to-back aces from Davis, which tied things up at 23 all. Despite the run from the Mountaineers, VCU broke the tie and took the set 25-23.
In the fourth set, App State and VCU matched 10 times and traded the lead six times. The Black and Gold opened the set with a pair of kills from Grevengoed and Morris. Down 15-13, the Mountaineers built off a kill from Morris and consecutive kills from Hutchens to push ahead, 16-15. With the help of a 6-1 scoring run, App State reached set point, 24-20. VCU managed to hold App State to a trio of set points, but Grevengoed set Winterhoff up for a kill to seal the set, 25-23, for the Mountaineers.
App State established a 4-0 lead early in the fifth set as a pair of Heidemann aces sandwiched back-to-back kills from sophomore Lou Johnson. For the duration of the fifth and final set, App State commanded the lead. With a 7-1 run that featured kills from Hutchens, Grevengoed and Morris, the Black and Gold jumped ahead, 11-2. Contreras set Winterhoff up for a kill to bring App State to set and match point (14-5). The duo of Morris and Hutchens went up for a block to seal the set, 15-6, and the win, 3-2.
Looking Ahead
The Mountaineers will take on Virginia at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The match will be available to stream on ACCNX. Both App State and Virginia enter Saturday’s contest unbeaten.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — One press box pundit aptly described the Sept. 5 high school football game in saying, “Watauga is playing chess, but Mount Airy came to play checkers.”
Nyle Peays (9) hauls in a first quarter TD pass from Cade Keller vs. Mount Airy on Sept. 5. Photo by Jared Everett for High Country Sports
Well, the game was “chess,” so the visiting Granite Bears came up well short in the Pioneers’ 61-7 win.
It was the third game in a row Watauga’s “complementary football” performance triggered a “mercy rule” running clock in the second half, after lopsided wins over Ashe County (56-7) and TC Roberson (42-0).
Mount Airy arrived at Jack Groce Stadium undefeated at 2-0 (wins over Starmount, 21-6, and East Wilkes, 23-16) but was mismatched vs. Watauga. Committing eight turnovers that included four fumbles, two interceptions and two turnovers on downs, it could be argued the Granite Bears self-destructed.
While the Pioneers celebrate, a dismayed Mount Airy player can only show frustration after a fumble, one of eight turnovers for the Granite Bears. Photo by Jared Everett for High Country Sports
That, of course, would detract from a stellar effort by the Pioneers’ defense, led by defensive line menace Brady Lindenmuth and his linebacker sidekicks, Thomas Deiters, Cooper Greene and John Wilson Mills, among others.
On offense, senior quarterback Cade Keller was again in step with his playmakers, completing 9-of-17 passes for 157 yards and 3 TDs, while tucking and running for 51 yards on 7 carries and 2 TDs. He spread the ball around to four different receivers. Meanwhile, seven different Pioneers carried the ball for 231 yards and a combined 6 rushing TDs.
Kyle Williams (3) is off and running vs. Mount Airy. Photo by Jared Everett for High Country Sports
Watauga enjoys a bye week next, then goes on the road for three consecutive games beginning with at Erwin (Asheville) on Sept. 19 (7 p.m.), at Asheville on Sept. 26 (7:30 p.m.), and opening Northwestern Conference play at Freedom (Morganton), on Oct. 3 (7:30 p.m.).
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter
WAT: TD Pass, Cade Keller to Nyle Peays, 29 yards, PAT by Miller Hankins is good (7-0)
WAT: TD Pass, Cade Keller to Evan Burroughs, 29 yards, PAT by Miller Hankins is good (14-0)
MA: TD Pass, Ahmad Francis to Zach Goins, 41 yards, PAT by No. 88 is good (14-7)
2nd Quarter
WAT: TD Run, Everett Gryder, 6 yards, PAT by Miller Hankins is good (21-7)
WAT: TD Run, Cade Keller, 7 yards, PAT by Miller Hankins is good (28-7)
WAT: TD Run, Cade Keller, 5 yards, PAT by Miller Hankins is good (35-7)
WAT: TD Run, Evan Burroughs, 3 yards, PAT by Miller Hankins is good (42-7)
3rd Quarter
WAT: TD Pass, Cade Keller to Kyle Williams, 19 yards, PAT kick by Cameron Nance, FAILED, 48-7)
4th Quarter
WAT: TD Run, Merrix Oakes, 11 yards, PAT by Cameron Nance is good (55-7)
WAT: TD Run, Easton Burns, 4 yards, PAT by Cameron Nance is BLOCKED (61-7)
INDIVIDUAL WATAUGA GAME STATS (unofficial)
Passing
Cade Keller: 9-of-17, 157 yards, 3 TDS, no INTs
Receiving
Evan Burroughs, 3 catches, 64 yards, 1 TD
Nyle Peays, 3 catches, 57 yards, 1 TD
Kyle Williams, 1 catch, 19 yards, 1 TD
Tyler Leyshon, 1 catch, 10 yards
Rushing
Matthew Leon, 9 carries, 74 yards
Everett Gryder, 11 carries, 61 yards, 1 TD
Cade Keller: 7 carries, 51 yards, 2 TDs
Brayson Gough, 3 carries, 20 yards
Merrix Oakes, 1 carry, 11 yards, 1 TD
Evan Burroughs, 2 carries, 10 yards, 1 TD
Easton Burns, 1 carry, 4 yards, 1 TD
BONUS PHOTOS (all photos by Jared Everett for High Country Sports. Click on any image for larger size and SLIDE SHOW mode)
Watauga senior QB Cade Keller was responsible for 5 TDs vs. Mount Airy on Sept. 5. Photo by Jared Everett for High Country Sports
While the Pioneers celebrate, a dismayed Mount Airy player can only show frustration after a fumble, one of eight turnovers for the Granite Bears. Photo by Jared Everett for High Country Sports
Nyle Peays (9) hauls in a first quarter TD pass from Cade Keller vs. Mount Airy on Sept. 5. Photo by Jared Everett for High Country SportsKyle Williams (3) is off and running vs. Mount Airy. Photo by Jared Everett for High Country Sports
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Overcoming a challenge in non-conference play is nothing new for the Watauga High School volleyball team — and the Pioneers proved again up to the task on Sept. 4 vs. Hickory Christian in Lentz Eggers Gym.
The Knights and Pioneers engaged in a see-saw battle for most of the three sets before Watauga took command, eventually emerging the victor, 3-1 (25-22, 27-25, 25-20, 25-10).
Next up for the Pioneers is the start of Northwestern Conference play, at Freedom on Sept. 9 (JV @ 4:30 p.m., Varsity at 6:00 p.m.).
STAT LEADERS vs. HICKORY CHRISTIAN
Kills: Emma Pastusic (34), Ashlyn Smith (13), Kora Knight (11)
Service Aces: Ashlyn Smith (3)
Blocks: Kora Knight (7)
Digs: Ashlyn Smith (23), Emma Pastusic (19), Caroline Childers (18), Lilli Combs (16), Lainey Gragg (11)
By Layne McNary. CLEVELAND, Ohio — App State Field Hockey senior Lise Boekaar was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday.
“We are so proud of Lise and her efforts this weekend,” said head coach Emily Dinsmore. “She was a force on the attacking end and set her teammates up for success. Lise will be the first to say that this weekend was a team effort and winning this award is an honor for the whole team.”
Boekaar is now tied for second all-time at App State in career assists with 22, while also matching her single-season assist total of seven from last year in the opening weekend alone.
Boekaar posted an impressive opening weekend, having a hand in all 10 Mountaineer goals over two games.
Against Towson, Boekaar had a career performance, tallying two goals and five assists in the opening game. Her work in the midfield helped the Mountaineers score seven goals, tying the program record for goals in a season opener, which was last set in a 7-1 win over Wake Forest in 1981.
Her strong weekend continued against Georgetown, where she scored a goal and assisted on the other two as the Mountaineers won 3-1 to close out the weekend. Over the first two games of the season, Boekaar has three goals and seven assists, which both lead the MAC.
Boekaar is now tied for second all-time at App State in career assists with 22, while also matching her single-season assist total of seven from last year in the opening weekend alone.
The Mountaineers will look to remain in the win column as they host the Davidson Wildcats on Sunday in the home opener. The game is scheduled for noon at Dr. Jan C. Watson Field at the Brandon & Erica M. Adcock Field Hockey Complex.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Adrenaline was running high and a raucous crowd was abuzz on Sept. 2 in the Holmes Convocation Center. It may not have been the prettiest volleyball — but pretty enough as App State swept by visiting Elon, 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-20).
Each of the three sets had a similar personality: the Mountaineers started shaky and The Phoenix jumped to an early lead, App State rallied to tie and inch ahead, and then the Mountaineers edged ahead without fully taking control, but played just well enough to maintain the lead and secure the victory.
Among the most visible offensive stalwarts on this night was the dynamic duo of setter Addison Heidemann and middle blocker Maya Winterhoff. A redshirt senior setter from Diller, Neb., and 2024 transfer from Iowa State, Heidemann recorded 36 assists over the three sets, while Winterhoff finished with 14 kills and a .545 hitting percentage. She added six critical blocks for her evening’s work.
App State outside hitter Bella Hutchens sends a ‘welcome greeting’ to Elon’s April Rice (18) and Catherine Rucker (17) on Sept. 2 in the Holmes Convocation Center. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
“We are a talented team,” said App State’s head coach Chad Sutton after the match, adding, “We just have a few holes in our play right now. We’re not cleaning up. It is early (in the season) and we are all new with six transfers to go with the returners and a new staff. We need to clean it up. We talked about it (in the locker room afterwards). It takes a little bit of time. I’m sure the girls were jazzed up for the home opener. We have to get to a point where the adrenaline is running high and we are comfortable with it and play within ourselves.”
Sutton reserved high praise for Heidemann and Winterhoff.
“To take over a program with perhaps the best middle blocker in the conference and a grad setter with experience gives us time to develop other people, so we can be successful now and later. We are very blessed to have both of those girls,” said Sutton, in his first year at the helm of the App State volleyball program.
Sutton also observed the growing role of Watauga High School alum, Caroline Farthing.
“We talked about it a couple of weeks ago,” Sutton shared. “We were struggling to pass the ball. Even when we were struggling tonight, we needed a couple of players to step up and Caroline did that. She has really settled in on serve receive and passing. We just talked about it in the locker room, how proud we are of Caroline for really filling a void and need on the team. She stepped up in a big way.”
For Winterhoff, at least, the Sept. 2 home opener had a purpose.
“We knew Elon had a tough weekend, so they were looking for their first win tonight,” said the 6-2, senior middle blocker from Charlottesville, Va. “We knew they were going to put up a fight, but we didn’t want that first win to come against us.”
“Addie is my best friend off the court,” said Winterhoff of her setter, “so that makes it just that much easier on the court. We trust each other. It may not be perfect every time but I know she has my back and I have her back.”
“Being able to set for somebody like Maya is the best feeling in the world,” said Heidemann. “She is always up. I can always hear her, wherever I am on the court. We have such a great connection that even when I am falling off the court, I can still find her. That is rare for a hitter and setter.”
Next up for the Mountaineers is a trip to Winterhoff’s hometown, Charlottesville, Va., for a pair of matchups against Virginia Commonwealth on Sept. 5 (2 p.m.), then against tournament host Virginia on Saturday, Sept. 6 (2 p.m.). They follow that up on Sept. 12 in north Atlanta against Michigan State (2 p.m.), then against tournament host Kennesaw State on Sept. 13 (12 noon).
Their early season road trips aren’t quite done, as they are slated to play North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Tuesday, Sept 16 (6 p.m.), before returning home to host Duke and Davidson in the Mountaineer Classic on Sept. 19 (6 p.m.) and Sept. 21 (2 p.m.), respectively.
