By Katherine Jamtgaard. FOLEY, Ala. — The No. 1 seed App State volleyball team’s Sun Belt Tournament run was cut short in the semifinal round after the Mountaineers fell to the West Division’s No. 2 seed, Texas State, in three sets (18-25, 24-26, 18-25). Saturday marked App State’s first SBC Tournament semifinal appearance since 2018 and the first of the Rumely Noble era.
“I’m beyond proud of our team,” said head coach Sarah Rumely Noble. “We played our hearts out and never backed down. It’s a huge step for our program to earn our way into the semifinals and I’m beyond excited for our future.”
Texas State 3, App State 0
Senior Lulu Ambrose led the Mountaineers with 10 kills and three aces. Sophomore Ava Leahy made a team high two blocks, both solo, and recorded seven kills. Graduate student Cierra Huntley and freshman Elise Marchal matched with five kills apiece. Marchal also made 10 digs on the day. Redshirt junior Addison Heidemann accounted for 27 of App State’s 29 assists, while junior Kenady Roper made a team high 11 digs.
App State jumped ahead, 2-0, to start the first set after a Bobcat error and a Leahy kill. After another Bobcat error and a kill from Ambrose, the Mountaineers took a 4-3 edge. Building off a 9-2 run, Texas State took a 12-6 lead. An ace from junior Maya Winterhoff, a kill from Leahy, and a pair of Bobcat errors brought the Mountaineers within three (13-10), but Texas State extended the lead with a 5-0 run. The Black and Gold chipped away at the deficit with kills from Leahy, Ambrose, Marchal, and Winterhoff. The Mountaineers held Texas State to a pair of set points with a kill from Marchal and an Ambrose ace, but it wasn’t enough as the Bobcats sealed the set, 25-18. App State managed to hold Texas State to eight kills in the first set while slamming down 12.
In the second set, App State and Texas State knotted the score 12 times, swapped the lead on five occasions, and matched with 13 kills apiece. Heidemann set Ambrose up for the first kill of the set, and the Mountaineers established a 7-2 lead with a 5-0 run that featured kills from Ambrose and Huntley as well as an Ambrose ace. Texas State answered with a 4-0 run of its own to come within one, but a kill from Huntley kept App State ahead, 8-6. As Texas State took an 11-10 edge, Leahy and Ambrose made kills to push the Black and Gold ahead, 13-11. With a 6-1 run, the Bobcats pulled ahead, 17-14. The Mountaineers managed to meet the Bobcats at 18 all with a kill and ace from Ambrose, a kill from Huntley, and a Texas State error. Texas State pulled away with a 3-0 run, which App State answered with a 3-0 run of its own to match at 21 all. App State reached set point at 24-23 after a kill from Ambrose and a Bobcat error, but Texas State edged ahead with a 3-0 run to take the set, 26-24.
In the third and final set, Texas State took control of the lead with a 5-0 run. App State chipped away at the deficit with kills from Ambrose and Winterhoff and an ace from Roper. Down 10-5, a Huntley kill, a kill and solo block from Leahy, and a pair of Bobcat errors brought App State within three (13-10). A Bobcat service error and a block from the duo of Ambrose and Winterhoff cut the deficit to two at 14-12. Texas State managed to pull away, and despite a kill from Leahy, the Bobcats sealed the set, 25-18, and the match 3-0.
2024 Sun Belt Volleyball Tournament Schedule & Results
Nov. 21-24, 2024 | Foley, Ala. | Foley Sports Tourism Complex
First Round Results
(5E) Georgia State 3, (4W) Troy 2
(4E) Coastal Carolina 3, (5W) Southern Miss 1
Quarterfinal Results
(2W) Texas State 3, (3E) James Madison 0
(1E) App State 3, (5E) Georgia State 2
(1W) Arkansas State 3, (4E) Coastal Carolina 2
(2E) Georgia Southern 3, (3W) South Alabama 0
Semifinals – Sat. Nov. 23
(2W) Texas State 3, (1E) App State 0
Match 8 – 6:00 p.m. (5:00 p.m. CT) – (1W) Arkansas State vs. (2E) Georgia Southern
Championship – Sun. Nov. 24
Match 9 – 4:00 p.m. ET (3:00 p.m. CT) – (2W) Texas State vs. Winner Match 8
