Mountaineer volleyball traveled to Lafayette, Louisiana to close out their regular season in a double header against the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns.
The Black and Gold fell short losing the first match of the double header 3-0. App State held an early 4-3 lead due to kills from junior middle blocker Lauren Pledger and sophomore middle blocker Maya Winterhoff. Louisiana gained momentum with back to back runs, taking a quick 24-13 lead.
Despite the Mountaineers’ efforts to form a comeback, the Ragin’ Cajuns took the first set 25-15.
Louisiana carried their momentum into the second set taking a 13-4 lead. The Black and Gold countered with a 3-0 run, which saw a kill from junior outside hitter Lulu Ambrose as well as a block from Pledger and senior right side Meghan Dombrowski. Louisiana finished the set with a 7-0 run, winning the set 25-11.
A pair of kills from freshman right side Delanie Grevengoed highlighted the opening of the third set as the Mountaineers took an early 6-4 lead. App State extended the lead to 12-7 after a kill from fifth-year senior outside hitter McCall Denny.
Louisiana mounted a comeback to knot the score at 24 after the teams traded points.
The Mountaineers fell short 28-26, despite kills from Winterhoff and Ambrose as Louisiana captured the match 3-0. The Mountaineers dropped a hard fought five-set regular season finale 3-2.
Kills from Denny and Winterhoff established a 6-4 lead for the Black and Gold in the opening set of the second match Saturday. A kill from freshman right side Ava Leahy extended the lead to 11-7. The Mountaineers closed out the set with a pair of 4-0 runs, winning the set 25-12.
Louisiana came out swinging to start the second set with a 5-0 run to take a 7-2 lead. A late string of kills from Winterhoff and Ambrose was not enough as Louisiana took the set 25-16, tying the match 1-1.
The Ragin’ Cajuns jumped to an early 11-5 lead to open the third set. A kill from Grevengoed shrunk the Louisiana lead to 13-10. Louisiana finished the set with a pair of runs to take the set 25-16.
An ace from sophomore libero Alyssa McBean highlighted the beginning of the fourth set. The Black and Gold jumped to an early 8-2 lead. A block and a kill from Denny continued the Mountaineers’ momentum to the end of the set that saw a 25-16 win for App State, tying the match 2-2.
Louisiana opened the fifth and final set with a 6-1 lead. Back to back kills from Ambrose and Pledger shrunk the deficit to 13-8. Louisiana captured the next two points to win the set 15-8 and the match 3-2.
The Black and Gold set their sights on the Sun Belt Tournament in Foley, Alabama. The sixth-seeded Mountaineers will face the seventh-seeded Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks Wednesday at 6 p.m. The match will be available to stream on ESPN+.
