By Matt Present. BOONE, N.C. — Izzi Wood registered her third brace of the season and Sarah Wommack made a clutch second-half save to lift App State over Arkansas State 2-1 on Oct. 20.
With the Mountaineers (6-4-5, 3-1-2) leading 1-0 in the 74th minute of play, an Arkansas State (3-5-5, 0-4-3) player was fouled in the box, resulting in a penalty kick opportunity to potentially tie the score. Wommack rose to the occasion, diving to her right to block the shot, and three minutes later Wood scored her second goal of the match to help App State secure the win.
Wood’s first tally came in the 28th minute of play. After pickpocketing a Red Wolves defender, Wood dribbled to the center of the box, cut to her right to shed a helping defender and fired a shot into the top-right corner of the net to give the Mountaineers a 1-0 advantage.
The graduate student scored her second goal in the 77th minute of play. Stephanie Barbosa crossed a ball into the middle of the box and Red Wolves goalkeeper Taylor Sweat deflected the pass straight into the air. An Arkansas State defender attempted to make the clear but headed it right to Wood for the finish.
Wood moves into a tie for the league lead with ten goals on the season, and her 25th career goal ties her for third-most in program history with Jennifer Rudy (2001-2004) and Sam Childress (2012-2015), and just five goals shy of Casey Cleary’s program-record.
App State conceded its lone goal in the 81st minute of play as McKenzie Robinson banged a shot off the far post and into the back of the net to break up the shutout.
The victory marks the Mountaineers’ first home win in conference play this season and snaps a four-match winless streak dating back to Sept. 26.
The Mountaineers will travel to Troy on Thursday for their final regular season road match of the season. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET and the match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
By David Rogers. KERNERSVILLE, N.C. — A No. 4 team finish by the Watauga District girls cross country team in what is regarded as the middle school state meet on Oct. 19, brought a lot of happy smiles to the faces of storm-beleaguered harriers who had to spend a lot of the last three weeks training alone or in makeshift sessions.
In the Girls Championship race, the Watauga girls were led by seventh grader Kate James Moore’s No. 13 overall finish out of the 121 athletes qualified to run in the Girls Championship event. Eighth grade student-athlete Sophia Stull crossed the line in the No. 25 position, with Eva Hannon No. 70, Hannah Reule No. 72, and Merritt Powell No. 91 to round out the top five Watauga scorers.
Moore crossed the finish line of the 2-mile course with a time of 12:28.9, good enough for No. 6 among school based runners (not including club teams), and just eight seconds out of second place in the tight finish. Stull was scored No. 11 in the school-based division, Hannon No. 33, Reule No. 34, and Powell No. 51 to account for Watauga’s 135 team points.
Cuthbertson Middle School was the No. 1 team, followed by Marvin Ridge MS (No. 2) and Weddington (No. 3). Watauga was one of 11 schools with at least five runners in the field for team competition.
In the Boys Division, the lone Watauga middle school harrier in the Boys Championship was Blowing Rock’s Sean Rea, who finished No. 58 overall and No. 34 among the school-based teams’ runners. The Boys Championship race featured 145 qualifying runners.
By David Rogers. HARTFORD, Conn. — Seven weeks out from her next full marathon race, Blowing Rock-based ZAP Endurance team member Annmarie Tuxbury (1:13:24) had a nice “warmup” outing on Oct. 19, winning the women’s division of the Eversource Hartford Half Marathon, crossing the finish line 63 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor, Anna Oeser (No. 2, 1:14:27) of Brookline, Mass.
Tuxbury wasn’t the only ZAP pedigreed athlete among the top performers. Former team member Whitney Macon, now an assistant distant running coach at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), finished No. 3 (1:14:57).
ZAP CONNECTION: Current ZAP Endurance marathoner Annmarie Tuxbury, 25 (left), and former ZAP Endurance resident athlete Whitney Macon, now an M.I.T. assistant coach, share a moment after the Oct. 19 Eversource Hartford Half Marathon, where they finished No. 1 and No. 3, respectively. Photo courtesy of ZAP Endurance
“It was a good performance by Annmarie today,” said ZAP Endurance head coach Pete Rea. “She is tuning up for the California International Marathon in Sacramento, on Dec. 8. This was a good test for her against a strong field of runners, mostly from the New England area.”
Among the most impressive notes about Tuxbury’s race is that while she finished No. 1 among a field of almost 2,000 women, but she finished No. 25 among the total field of almost 4,000 distance running athletes, including the men.
While Tuxbury ran a good part of the race alone, without anyone pushing her, the finishing time of 1:13:24 for the 13+ miles was only 86 seconds off this past year’s 1:12 women’s qualifying time for a half marathon pointing to the U.S. Olympic Trials-Marathon.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — In falling behind 7-0 in the first set of the Watauga Middle School Volleyball Tournament championship final, you had to wonder if No. 2 seeded Hardin Park had brought their “A” game in facing No. 1 seeded Parkway on Oct. 19. The Golden Eagles gradually battled back, losing the set, but then prevailed to take the second and third sets for a 2-1 win (12-25, 25-18, 15-9) over the Patriots.
It was a well-deserved, wild celebration for Hardin Park’s middle school volleyball team on Oct. 19, in upsetting No. 1 seeded Parkway in the tournament championship final, 2-1. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
FULL TOURNAMENT SCORES AND BONUS PHOTOS at bottom of article (click any image for Slide Show Mode)
“It has been our ‘M.O.’ all season,” said Hardin Park head coach Andy Eggers afterwards. “We seem to be a slow starting team but a good finishing team. I told the girls after the first set that they couldn’t do anything about changing that result, so they simply had to focus on the next one. They did just that.”
Parkway’s middle school volleyball team won the regular season championship, then finished second in the season-ending tournament. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
Outside hitter and middle blocker Adeline Tate enjoyed a couple of constructive visits to the service line for Hardin Park and was pleased about her team’s performance.
“I think we did really good, but so did Parkway, too. It was a tough game. I am really glad we got to play this tournament. With the hurricane and school being out, I thought our season was going to be over,” said Tate.
Hardin Park’s Adeline Tate had a couple of strong service runs to help her team’s cause in the tournament championship final. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
As evenly matched as the teams were this season, it was fitting that Parkway won the regular season championship and Hardin Park was able to claim the tournament championship. Parkway head coach Susan Hemric echoed everyone’s thoughts in how special it was to be able to play the tournament.
“We were so excited about playing this tournament,” said Hemric. “Win or lose, it was a great way to get the girls back together, to be a community. That was a true championship game. Both teams played to their potential. Today, Hardin Park made fewer errors.”
Eggers, who doubles as the middle school athletics coordinator for Watauga County Schools, said it was important to get the tournament in after the hurricane.
With Ember Honeycutt (16) poised for the next hit, Poppy Summey (6) of Parkway digs to keep the ball in play on Oct. 19 in the middle school volleyball tournament championship game vs. Hardin Park at Lentz Eggers Gym. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
“We wanted to give all the teams and opportunity to close out their seasons as normal as possible. A lot of these girls have gone through a lot of stuff because of the storm damage but they pulled together and decided they wanted to have this tournament. It is a good thing for the student athletes as well as for the community, to take some steps back to normalcy.”
Eggers indicated that classes are due to come back in the school district on Thursday, Oct. 24, ending the holdup because of school buses inability to operate.
“I think they are going to have community stops rather than the more door-to-door schedules run previously. There will probably be a lot more students dropped off in the car lines at the individual schools,” said Eggers.
FULL TOURNAMENT SCORES
Round 1
No. 1 Parkway – bye
No. 4 Cove Creek def. No. 5 Blowing Rock, 2-0 (25-21, 25-22)
No. 3 Green Valley def. No. 6 Mabel, 2-0 (25-10, 25-20)
No. 2 Hardin Park def. No. 7 Valle Crucis, 2-0 (25-5, 25-6)
Parkway’s middle school volleyball team won the regular season championship, then finished second in the season-ending tournament. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
Hardin Park’s Adeline Tate had a couple of strong service runs to help her team’s cause in the tournament championship final. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
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+.
By David Rogers. TAYLORSVILLE, N.C. — Before the Oct. 18 high school football game between Watauga and Alexander Central, the visiting Pioneers harbored a lot of uncertainty about how they would play after a month-long layoff induced by Hurricane Helene. After spoiling the host Cougars’ Homecoming with a convincing, 49-21 win, most of the doubts about how Watauga would respond to adversity evaporated.
On a clear, autumn night down the mountain in Taylorsville, Watauga showed little rust. Rolling up almost 600 yards (592) of total offense, the Pioneers scored in six different ways and proved to be an 8-headed offensive juggernaut. Defensively, not only did they neutralize Alexander Central’s rushing playmakers and limit their hosts to just 206 yards of total offense, but Watauga poached (two INTs) — as many Cougar passes as ACHS quarterback Wade Queen completed on the night.
The secret password for the Watauga student section was ‘Yee-HawQ’ on Oct. 18 for the football game at Alexander Central. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
A week ago, Alexander Central used a powerful rushing attack to record a come-from-behind, 30-20 win over a strong Freedom squad. After the game, Pioneer head coach Ryan Habich revealed a couple of key personnel changes to counter the Cougars’ rushing attack, moving Dillon Zaragoza and Nyle Peays closer to the line of scrimmage as linebackers and rotating Maddox Greene back to more of a safety position on defense. He credited the defensive coaches led by coordinator Dustin Kerley for effectively designing and implementing the plans.
Greene, of course, saw double duty as the Pioneers’ senior signal caller and his offensive leadership was clearly on display. Watauga controlled possession of the football for 30:08, keeping the pigskin out of Alexander Central’s hands for all but 17:52. Greene carried the ball 20 times for 187 net yards and two TDs and completed 10-of-12 passes for 161 yards, including two long aerials of 47 and 32 yards, to wide receiver Landon Smith.
QB Maddox Greene looks downfield — and finds senior wide receiver Landon Smith for a TD. Photo by Garner Dewey for High Country Sports
After Watauga’s defense limited the Cougars to “three and outs” on both of the hosts’ first quarter possessions and the Pioneers’ offense responded by mounting consecutive scoring drives to put the visitors ahead, 14-0, Alexander Central looked to get in the scoring column and narrow the deficit early in the second quarter.
But nothing went right. An offside penalty on first down set the Cougars back 5 yards. A keeper by Queen lost a yard. On second down, a QB hurry by the Pioneers’ Luke Edmisten forced an incomplete pass. Then a Queen pass toward the left sideline was intercepted by Greene, giving Watauga possession again at the the ACHS 40-yard line.
The ensuing drive by the Pioneers proved to be a defining series for the night in how they handled adversity. First down runs by Greene and Zaragoza were offset by consecutive penalties, an illegal block and then a personal foul, knocking them back to the 44-yard line. Opening up the playbook on 3rd-and-24, backup QB Cade Keller took the reins and moved Greene to a running back position. Keller rifled a short pass left to Greene, who darted this way and that, gaining just over half of the necessary yards for a first down, but the Pioneers still faced 4th-and-11, on the ACHS 31.
Evan Burroughs trots across the goal line for a first half TD for Watauga at Alexander Central. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
Opening up the playbook a little further, the Pioneers decided “to go for it” rather than punt or try what would have been close to a 50-yard field goal attempt by kicker Jack Wilson. Instead, with three receivers right, Greene passed quickly to Evan Burroughs near the line of scrimmage for an apparent screen pass — with a Cougar defender bearing down on Burroughs for an almost certain stop. But the versatile Burroughs caught the ball first, then quickly flipped it to running back Everett Gryder looping around the outside and down the sideline for the needed 11 yards and a first down. Two plays later, Gryder carried the ball around the left side, weaving his way to the end zone for a 14-yard TD run.
If the pass interception hadn’t taken the wind out of Alexander Central’s proverbial sails, Watauga’s razzle-dazzle and 8-play TD-scoring series that took 3:36 off the clock certainly put them in a big hole at 21-0.
QB Maddox Greene finds some room to run on Oct. 18 at Alexander Central in Watauga’s 49-21 win. Photo by Garner Dewey for High Country Sports
The Cougars were down, but not yet beaten. They rallied for a TD-scoring drive that kept Watauga’s offense off the field for 4:31. The possession featured the kind of three- to five-yard runs by junior running backs Sawyer Chapman-Mays and Jeremiah Whitaker to collect chunks of real estate that Habich and his defensive coaches expected. The rushes were bookended by successful Queen passes to fellow senior wide receiver Garrison Millsaps of 7 and 15 yards. The latter was a left-to-right slant across the middle that found Millsaps wide open, and probably would have scored had it not been for a saving tackle by Peays at the Pioneer 13-yard line. Whitaker ran through Watauga’s defense on the next play, shoved out of bounds a yard short of the left pylon and Chapman-Mays punched it in from there. With the Cory Mays PAT kick, the commanding, 9-play sequence gave the Cougar faithful hope that another comeback win might be in the offing.
If only Alexander Central could have stopped Watauga and continued to replicate the mostly error-free performance of that scoring drive.
Matthew Leon stretches for some extra yards after a big gain at Alexander Central on Oct. 18. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
But they couldn’t. It took the Greene-led Pioneers just 3 plays to cover 65 yards, in just 41 seconds. A Greene keeper picked up 9 yards and a short pass to Burroughs collected another nine before Greene found wide receiver Landon Smith behind a pair of Cougar defenders, hitting the tall, speedy senior (who competes in track and field as a sprinter and high jumper) in stride for a 47-yard TD.
And the first half misfortunes continued for Alexander Central, when on their first play from scrimmage after the Smith TD, Queen’s pass was intercepted by Watauga senior Zaragoza, giving the ball back to the Pioneers with a short field ahead of them from the ACHS 43.
As if rewarding Zaragoza for his brilliant defensive gem, Greene hit him on the first play of the new offensive possession with a pass for a 15-yard pickup, but with time ticking down on the first half, Watauga’s drive stalled at the Cougar 7-yard line with 6 seconds left. On 4th-and-1, Habich elected to give his brilliant placekicker, Jack Wilson, a field goal opportunity. From 23 yards out, the kick sailed just outside the left upright, the lengthy Homecoming intermission starting with Boone boys sporting a 28-7 lead.
Important to note: Wilson just missed his one field goal attempt, but was a perfect 7-for-7 on PAT kicks.
Watauga’s Dillon Zaragoza (13) has the ball and a blocker in front in Everett Gryder on Oct. 18 at Alexander Central. Photo by Garner Dewey for High Country Sports
In the second half, Alexander Central was able to put two more impressive scoring drives together, again featuring the Whitaker and Chapman-Mays combination, but the Cougars’ defense simply couldn’t stop Watauga’s offense. Greene capped the Pioneers’ opening possession of the half with another 32-yard TD pass to Smith after more than four minutes had evaporated from the game clock.
Alexander Central responded with another TD, but their grinding, ball-control rushing attack took another 4:31 off the clock. While the Cougars were demonstrating that they could move the football, they weren’t doing themselves any favors with the clock quickly closing the window of opportunities — and the home team’s inability to stop the Pioneer offense.
After Greene closed out the end of the third quarter and opened the final stanza with his second TD run, Alexander Central’s next possession stalled with incomplete passes and a QB sack, turning the ball over on downs at the Watauga 36-yard line.
That’s where Keller took the reins of the Pioneer offense, the junior and probable starter next season efficiently picking up where Greene left off — including finishing off the possession with crafty, 32-yard run to paydirt and making the score an insurmountable, 49-14.
What’s not to like about an offensive line that opens a hole in the line of scrimmage you could drive a Mack truck through? Watauga QB Maddox Greene sure likes it! Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
At this point, Watauga was playing a lot of younger reserves on both sides of the ball, giving them valuable playing time to provide positional depth as the season heads toward the state playoffs next month. Alexander Central’s Whitaker took advantage, breaking free for a 75-yard TD romp down the right sideline, virtually untouched, for the home team’s final points (Watauga 49, Alexander Central 21).
Keller & Co. responded with a display of good sportsmanship. After the junior QB rushed 55 yards and was shoved into the ground late, out of bounds, by a Cougar defender, the personal foul gave the Pioneers a first down at the ACHS 5-yard line with just over a minute remaining in the game. Keller promptly got his offense in victory formation and kneeled down twice, running out the clock and not trying for the almost certain extra points.
Now 6-0 and in what has become an unusual, reconfigured Northwestern Conference schedule, Watauga is next slated to host Hibriten at Jack Groce Stadium on Oct. 25, then Freedom on Nov. 1 for the last regular season home game. They will have played three games in the space of eight days when they travel to Ashe County on Tuesday, Nov. 5, then to South Caldwell on Nov. 8 to complete Northwestern Conference play and await any playoffs’ seeding.
SELECTED TEAM STATS
First Downs: WAT 27, AC 10
Net Yards Rushing: WAT 400, AC 184
Net Yards Passing: WAT 192, AC 22
TOTAL OFFENSE: WAT 592, AC 206
Turnovers
Fumbles-Lost: WAT 1-0, AC 1-0
Pass Interceptions: WAT 0, AC 2
Time of Possession: WAT 30:08, AC 17:52
3rd Down Conversions: WAT 7-of-11, AC 4-of-8
4th Down Conversions: WAT 3-of-3, AC 0-of-1
Penalties-Yards: WAT 6-50, AC 3-26
SELECTED INDIVIDUAL STATS
Passing
WAT – Maddox Greene, 10-of-12, 161 yards, 2 TDs
WAT – Cade Keller, 4-of-4, 31 yards
AC – Wade Queen, 2-of-10, 22 yards
Receiving
WAT – Landon Smith, 3-84, 2 TDs
WAT – Evan Burroughs, 6-38
AC – Garrison Millsaps, 2-22
WAT – Dillon Zaragoza, 2-18
WAT – Matthew Habich, 1-14
WAT – Maddox Greene, 1-13
WAT – Matthew Leon, 1-10
Rushing
WAT – Maddox Greene, 20 carries, 187 net yards, 2 TDs
By Layne McNary. BOONE, N.C. — The App State field hockey team defeated the Ball State Cardinals by a score of 3-1, on Senior Night.
The Mountaineers (8-6, 5-1 MAC) came into the Oct. 18 matchup after previously falling to North Carolina, and with the win against Ball State (3-9, 2-3 MAC), the Mountaineers clinched a spot in the 2024 MAC Field Hockey Tournament.
Henriette Stegen, Kassie Paul and Bridget Donovan all found the back of the cage, helping improve the home record to 5-2.
How it Happened
1st Quarter: The game began tight for both teams, but a Stegen goal from a Boekaar pass gave the Mountaineers an early lead in the contest. Neither team forced a corner in the period, both having ample possession in the midfield. Nearing the end of the period, Paul found the back of the cage for her second goal of the season, giving the Mountaineers a 2-0 lead going into the second quarter.
2nd Quarter: It was more offensive pressure from the Mountaineers, forcing two saves by Ball State goalkeeper Hannah Johnston in the period. Ball State scored their lone goal of the game at the tail end of the second period, capitalizing off the team’s only penalty corner of the period. The Mountaineers led the Cardinals 2-1 going into the halftime break.
3rd Quarter: It was all App State in the third, dominating a bulk of the possession in the period. The Mountaineers forced another three saves from Johnston, along with forcing three corners in the period. Both teams were held scoreless in the third, with the Mountaineers maintaining their one goal lead going into the final period.
4th Quarter: The fourth period was more of the same for App State, forcing two corners in the period and testing the Ball State goalkeeper twice. Bridget Donovan found the back of the cage for the third time this season, giving the Mountaineers a two-goal cushion. App State eventually defeated Ball State, 3-1.
By Katherine Jamtgaard. BOONE, N.C. — The App State volleyball team clinched a five-set victory (16-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-15, 15-11) over Georgia Southern in Boone on Oct. 18. The Mountaineers rise to 10-6 on the season and 4-1 in SBC action. The victory for App State marked Georgia Southern’s first conference loss this season and first loss since Aug. 30.
“I am so proud. We fought and battled and would not be denied,” said head coach Sarah Rumely Noble. “We executed our game plan at a really high level. Senior Lulu Ambrose was incredible with 21 kills. I’m excited to get back at it again tomorrow.”
App State 3, Georgia Southern 2
Ambrose led the Mountaineers with 21 kills, matching her career high, which was set during the 2022 season against Georgia Southern. Sophomore Ava Leahy slammed down 13 kills, while junior Maya Winterhoff made 12 kills on the night. Leahy and Winterhoff both totaled three blocks apiece. Registering her fifth double-double of the season with 49 assists and 11 digs was redshirt junior Addison Heidemann. Heidemann also served up five of the Mountaineers’ 10 aces. Freshman Elise Marchal made a team-high 19 digs, followed by junior Kenady Roper, who made 18 digs.
App State edged past Georgia Southern in kills (64-61) and assists (54-51). The Mountaineers and Eagles matched with 10 aces apiece. Prior to Friday’s contest, Georgia Southern had won 42 of their 48 sets played this season.
In the first set, Georgia Southern established an early 7-1 lead. The Mountaineers chipped away at the lead and closed the deficit to five with 4-0 run late in the set, which included a pair of kills from Leahy, an Ambrose ace, and a kill from freshman Bella Hutchens. It wasn’t enough, as the Eagles answered with a 4-0 run of their own to take the set, 25-16.
App State bounced back and commanded the second set, taking a 2-0 lead after an Eagle error and Roper ace. The Mountaineers extended the deficit to 10-1 with an electric eight-point run that featured four of Heidemann’s aces as well as a pair of kills from Ambrose. Marchal served up an ace to push the lead to 15-6. Georgia Southern chipped away at the deficit with a 4-0 run, coming within five of App State’s lead, but kills from Hutchens and Leahy, as well as a block from the duo of Ambrose and Leahy kept the Mountaineers ahead, 18-10. With assists from Heidemann, Ambrose and Winterhoff made kills to extend the lead to 21-14. A kill and ace from Ambrose brought App State to a 23-16 lead. After a 4-0 run from Georgia Southern to cut App State’s lead to 23-20, Heidemann set Marchal up for a kill that would bring the Mountaineers to set point (24-20). The Eagles held the Mountaineers to three set points before a kill from Hutchens clinched the set for App State, 25-23.
Despite knotting the score six times over the course of the third set, Georgia Southern took a 12-7 lead after a 6-0 run. App State cut the deficit to two at 17-15 after kills from Winterhoff and Leahy, in addition to an ace from Marchal. Despite a trio of kills from Ambrose late in the set, the Eagles took the third set, 25-20.
In the fourth set, the Mountaineers held the Eagles to eight kills. App State and Georgia Southern knotted the score once, at six all, but the Mountaineers commanded the lead over the duration of the set. The Mountaineers broke the six-all tie with a 6-0 run that included a trio of kills from Hutchens. Leahy made a kill followed by a solo block to extend App State’s lead to 15-8. The Black and Gold reached a 20-12 lead after kills from Winterhoff and Ambrose and an ace from Heidemann. Heidemann set Hutchens up for a kill and the duo of Hutchens and Leahy went up for a block to extend the Mountaineers’ lead to 23-14. Back-to-back kills from Leahy sealed the set, 25-15, for the Mountaineers.
The Black and Gold once again held Georgia Southern to eight kills in the fifth and final set. App State took control of the set early with a 3-0 lead after an Eagle error and kills from Ambrose and Winterhoff. Kills from Winterhoff, Ambrose and Marchal brought App State to an 8-4 lead. The Eagles cut the deficit to one at 11-10, but an Eagle service error and back-to-back kills from Ambrose brought App State to set and match point (14-10). Despite one last Georgia Southern kill, Winterhoff clinched the set (15-11) and match (3-2) for the Mountaineers with a strong kill.
Looking Ahead
The Mountaineers return to the court at 1 p.m. on Oct. 19 for their “Pink Day” match against the Eagles. Fans are encouraged to wear pink and “I fight for” signs will be available to fill out. There will also be a pink wagon race between the second and third sets. Sophomore Caroline Farthing’s mother, Angie Farthing, will make the honorary first serve of the match.
By Matt Present. HARRISONBURG, Va. — In a battle of the two remaining unbeaten teams in the Sun Belt East Division, App State fell on the road to James Madison 3-0 at Sentara Park on Thursday.
The loss is the Mountaineers’ (5-4-5, 2-1-3) first setback since Sept. 8, snapping a six-game unbeaten streak, the program’s longest since 2012. It also marks the first time the Mountaineers have been shut out since Sept. 1 at No. 13 Auburn.
App State goalkeeper Sarah Wommack clear the ball at James Madison on Oct. 17. Photo by Matt Present, courtesy of App State Athletics
Amanda Attanasi scored a pair of first half goals for the Dukes (8-3-3, 6-0-1), who took a 2-0 lead into halftime. Sun Belt scoring leader Ginny Lackey delivered the final blow with a goal in the 82nd minute of play.
App State was held to just one shot in the contest. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Sarah Wommack registered a career-high nine saves, facing a career-high 27 shots in the contest.
Freshman forward Ellie Garrison pushes the ball upfield for App State at JMU on Oct. 17. Photo by Matt Present, courtesy of App State Athletics
App State returns to Boone on Sunday for a matchup with Arkansas State. Kickoff is set for noon and the match will be broadcast on ESPN+. The contest is a makeup game from Sept. 29, which was postponed due to Hurricane Helene.
At Sunday’s match the Mountaineers will be collecting new cold weather clothing on behalf of the Hunger and Health Coalition in support of community members impacted by Hurricane Helene.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Make it plural. Instead of “This girl…”, it is “These girls are on fire!”
BONUS PHOTOS at bottom of article (click any image for Slide Show Mode)
With apologies to Alicia Keys for borrowing the title phrase of her iconic, 2012 song (“Girl on Fire”), there is no better way to describe Watauga’s varsity volleyball performance on Oct. 17, in a nailbiter of a 3-0 sweep (25-19, 26-24, 25-23) of the heavily favored Ashe County Huskies in Lentz Eggers Gym.
Lilli Combs (4) dives to keep Ashe County’s opening serve in play on Oct. 17, in Lentz Eggers Gym. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
“Those Watauga girls were on fire tonight,” said Ashe County head coach Dalton Lewis after the match. “When a team comes to play like that, you have to match it. Tonight, we weren’t quite there.”
Maybe because it was Senior Night. Maybe it was because the Pioneers had lost, 3-0, to the Huskies in West Jefferson on Sept. 25. Maybe it was finally having all of the team together for a couple of full, mandatory practices after the destruction and disruption of Hurricane Helene. Maybe it was all of those things, and more,
“This is the team that I knew we had in us, all season,” said a beaming Watauga head coach Kim Pryor. “You could see it in their eyes. They wanted it. Especially after everything they and the community have been through, I am so proud of these young women.”
Watauga outside hitter Emma Pastusic (18) powers a kill shot past attempted blocks by Ashe County’s Lorali Overcash (7) and Liza Weaver (6). Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
Right from the opening serve by Ashe County when junior defensive specialist Lilli Combs dove forward for a saving serve receive to keep the ball in play, there was a fierce determination — and confidence — in Watauga’s style of play. The young roster that features only four seniors (Kaitlyn Darner, Grace Twillery, Addison Parker and Hadleigh Windish) also includes four freshmen, two sophomores, and seven juniors. They spent the early part of the season growing together, then the almost three weeks of post-Hurricane Helene disruption undid a lot of that. Two less than perfect performances together early in the week (one win, one loss) with little in the way of preparation and one full practice together later… well, at least for this night, they were “clicking.”
Watauga did it in all phases of the game. Sophomore setter Lainey Gragg’s 34 assists provided kill opportunities for six different Pioneers on the front line, including Emma Pastusic (14 kills), Ashlyn Smith (9), Grace Twillery (8), Kora Knight (6), Hadleigh Windish (3) and Gragg (2). Addi Parker, Lilli Combs and Carolina Childers were also credited with assists.
Watauga libero Caroline Childers makes a good defensive play on Oct. 17 vs. Ashe County. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
Pastusic’s kill shots often elicited calls of “Boom!” from a student section led by many members of the football team. The junior outside hitter’s powerful timing seemed to have returned.
“A full, mandatory practice with everyone together really helped,” Pastusic said later. “I was able to focus on timing and accuracy.”
Defensively, on both sides, the Oct. 17 contest was a “dig” affair as both the Huskies and the Pioneers kept the ball in play off powerful kill shots by their adversaries. For Watauga, three players were credited with double digit digs, including Darner (12 digs), Combs (12) and Childers (11). With eight digs each, Parker and Gragg were right behind the other three.
A quartet of Pioneers each recorded a stuff block, including Pastusic, Twillery, Knight and Gragg. Service aces on this night seemed more rare in sending the ball over the net to a well-skilled Husky team, but Childers (with 2), Pastusic (1), Gragg (1) and Bella Wade (1) all made their mark at critical times to extend leads and establish offensive momentum.
The post-match celebration was a special, poignant moment for senior Kaitlyn Darner, left, and Watauga head coach Kim Pryor. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
With the win and a conference record of 6-2, Watauga secures the top 4A seed from the Northwestern Conference, followed by Alexander Central (6-3) and South Caldwell (5-4). Being the No. 1 seed from the conference, Watauga is guaranteed a berth, but all three NWC member have a chance at a berth.
As the No. 1 NWC finisher, Watauga is likely to be seeded in the top 16 of a 32-team, North Carolina 4A West bracket and be guaranteed at least one home game during the playoffs. According to MaxPreps, Watauga’s 4A West ranking is No. 17 (up one spot from No. 18 after the Oct. 15 loss to Alexander Central). Through games of Oct. 17, Alexander Central remains No. 24 and South Caldwell at No. 32, but several factors, including conference standings and strength of schedule among other factors go into the playoffs’ bracketing.
The state playoffs brackets should be announced over the weekend, with Round 1 matches scheduled for Oct. 22 and Round 2 for Oct. 24.
