App State volleyball continues to make history. The Mountaineers clinched their first Sun Belt East Division title since 2018 with a win Friday against Marshall en route to sweeping the Thundering Herd, their third straight conference series sweep and fourth overall.
App State trounced Marshall in straight sets Friday, 27-25, 25-8, 25-23.
The Mountaineers came out strong in front of a raucous home crowd. They started the first set with a 4-0 run and later went on a 5-0 run, during which freshman outside hitter Bella Hutchens got 3 kills. Marshall would keep it close as they recorded three different 3-0 runs before the set was halfway over, after which it became a back-and-forth affair.
Marshall clawed back from a 4-point deficit late to tie the set at 25-25. Senior outside hitter Lulu Ambrose got a clutch kill to regain the lead for the Mountaineers, then Hutchens and sophomore middle blocker Ava Leahy combined on a block to win the set.
App State put on an absolute clinic in the second set.
Junior middle blocker Maya Winterhoff had a solo block to start the set and 5 blocks in total. From there, it was all App State. The Mountaineers had four runs of at least 3 points, including a 6-0 run midway through the set that saw Hutchens collect 3 straight kills. Marshall did not score back-to-back points in the set.
The Mountaineers’ service game was spectacular in the second set as well. Four different players — Winterhoff, sophomore libero Caroline Farthing, redshirt junior setter Addison Heidemann and freshman right side Elise Marchal — recorded an ace in the set. Marchal’s ace won the set for the Mountaineers.
The third and final set was a much closer contest. App State got out to an early 8-5 lead, but the Thundering Herd were able to come back due to multiple attack errors by the Black and Gold. The same story would play out later in the set: App State went on a 5-0 run to take a 19-14 lead, but Marshall eventually tied the set at 23-23 by capitalizing on several attack and service errors.
App State would not let the match slip away. Ambrose recorded another kill to give the Mountaineers the advantage, and App State would win courtesy of an attack error by Marshall’s Olivia Fogo. The win clinched the Sun Belt East Division for App State, their first division title in six years.
The Mountaineers completed the sweep on senior day in five sets Saturday, 25-17, 25-21, 24-26, 23-25, 15-10.
Leahy had an incredible performance, setting a career-high in kills with 22 to go along with 2 solo blocks and 4 block assists. She used the slide attack to perfection, repeatedly executing the move to get crucial kills. Ambrose, Winterhoff, Hutchens and Marchal also had double-digit kill totals.
App State won the first 2 points of the first set and never trailed despite not recording a run of 3 or more points in the set. The Mountaineers and Thundering Herd went back-and-forth throughout the set, but App State was able to slowly pull away as the set progressed. Back-to-back kills from Winterhoff captured the set.
The second set started in a similar fashion to the first. The Black and Gold won the first 2 points, but Marshall used a 4-0 run to take an early lead. Much of the middle portion of the set was played with neither team able to establish a sizable advantage. That changed when the Mountaineers went on a 6-1 run late in the set to get to set point, and an Ambrose kill shortly after gave App State a commanding two-set lead.
App State looked poised to win in straight sets on back-to-back nights after getting out to a 5-1 lead in the third, but the Thundering Herd capitalized on 10 attack errors and 2 service errors by the Mountaineers to stave off defeat.
Those issues would continue in the fourth set. Marshall got ahead 9-5, but attack errors, bad sets and service errors repeatedly cost the Mountaineers opportunities to draw closer or take the lead. App State got within one after a Heidemann ace, only for Marshall to go on a 5-0 run and pull away. The Mountaineers began orchestrating a comeback late in the set but fell just short.
It all came down to the fifth set and, as they have all season, the Mountaineers stepped up their game and delivered. Marshall led 5-3 after a Hutchens service error, then App State went on a 9-2 extended run to put the match just out of reach. Winterhoff and Hutchens combined for the game-ending block, and the Black and Gold ended their last home game of the season with a win.
App State extended their win streak to six games and improved to 7-1 in games that go to a fifth set.
Their final test of the regular season will be at Troy, with the Mountaineers facing the Trojans Thursday and Friday. Both games will stream live on ESPN+.
