App State volleyball and new head coach Chad Sutton started the 2025 season by traveling to the South Carolina coast for the C of C Classic and going undefeated in their 3 games across Friday and Saturday.
The Mountaineers kicked off the year with a match against Mercer on Friday and cruised to a straight-set victory, 25-17, 25-16, 25-15.
App State quickly jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first set, punctuated by an ace from sophomore outside hitter Bella Hutchens.
The Bears clawed back and took a 12-11 lead, but the Black and Gold took momentum right back, going on an 8-2 run that featured 2 aces, one from junior libero Caroline Farthing, and the other from sophomore libero MeMe Davis, who played at Mercer last year.
With momentum on their side, App State pulled away and won the first set with a kill from Hutchens.
The Mountaineers raced to a 9-1 advantage before the first media timeout in the second set. The Mountaineers lead was never threatened as they racked up 12 kills as a team. An ace from senior outside hitter Ali Morris won the set for the Black and Gold.
The Bears appeared to finally figure things out early in the third set, as they took an 8-4 lead over the Mountaineers. App State then won 21 of the final 28 points in the set, going on four different runs of at least 3 points to secure the win.
Senior outside hitter Keionna Mackey shone in the set, hitting 3 straight aces and collecting a kill to help guide the Mountaineers to victory, the first for Sutton as a Mountaineer.
App State battled College of Charleston early on Saturday, with the Mountaineers prevailing in a five-set duel, 18-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-21,15-7.
The Mountaineers dug themselves into a big hole, dropping the first 2 sets to the Cougars and giving up 6 aces in the process.
App State stayed composed and responded with a bounce-back third set. Senior middle blocker Maya Winterhoff was on fire, racking up 5 kills and a solo block to help get the Black and Gold back into the game.
The Mountaineers tied the match with an excellent fourth set in which they never trailed. Winterhoff continued her great play with 2 more kills, an ace and a block assist. Hutchens added 5 kills, and Morris had 4 of her own, including the set-clinching kill to force a winner-take-all fifth set.
It was all App State in the fifth set, as the Mountaineers had 3 runs of at least 3 points and won 11 of the last 14 points, powered by back-to-back aces from Winterhoff and 2 kills in a row by sophomore middle blocker Lou Johnson to win the match.
App State wrapped their weekend up late Saturday with another five-set thriller, defeating Eastern Kentucky, 19-25, 25-21, 15-25, 25-18, 16-14.
After losing the first set to the Colonels, App State bounced back in the second, led by 5 kills, an ace and a solo block from Mackey.
Eastern Kentucky responded with a comfortable win in the third set, due in part to 9 errors from the Mountaineers. The Black and Gold answered right back with a dominant fourth set, gaining an 11-2 lead early in the set and never looking back to tie the game. Mackey starred in the set for the Mountaineers with 3 aces, 2 kills and a solo block.
The fifth set was tightly contested. Eastern Kentucky took a 4-0 lead before App State rallied back, capitalizing on numerous errors by the Colonels. The Mountaineers won 4 of the last 5 points, taking the win on a Colonel attack error and completing the undefeated weekend.
App State resumes action in the Holmes Convocation Center against Elon on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The game will stream live on ESPN+.
