App State volleyball has wrapped up their regular season campaign, splitting their series against Troy. The Black and Gold won a nail-biter in five sets Thursday, but their win streak finally came to an end at the hands of the Trojans in four sets Friday.
The Mountaineers defeated the Trojans on Thursday in five sets, 25-13, 21-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-10. App State would finish the regular season 8-1 in games that go to 5 sets.
App State controlled the first set from start to finish. Junior middle blocker Maya Winterhoff recorded the first 2 points with kills for the Mountaineers, going on to finish the match with 13. The Mountaineers went on five different runs of 3 points, including one to end the set.
Redshirt junior setter Addison Heidemann was excellent in the first set as well. Heidemann recorded an assist on 14 of the Mountaineers’ 25 points. She ended the match with an impressive 48 assists and 18 digs.
Troy had a bounce-back second set, going on a 4-0 run to start the scoring and never trailed in the set as they tied the match at one. App State tied the set multiple times late, at one point going on a 7-0 run to knot things up at 14-14. However, they could not claim the lead, as Troy had just enough in the tank to win the set.
The Black and Gold had an excellent set behind the service line, racking up 4 aces, two of which were back-to-back aces from freshman right side Elise Marchal. Marchal had a great match, collecting 15 kills, 8 digs, 7 block assists and 3 service aces.
App State flipped the script in the third set. Just as Troy got the first points in the second and never trailed, the Mountaineers opened the set with a 3-0 run and led from start to finish.
The Mountaineers led 15-7 midway through the set after a 5-0 run that was capped off by an ace from sophomore libero Caroline Farthing, which was enough of a gap to withstand a late charge from the Trojans. Troy got to within two points of the Mountaineers after saving two set points, but a kill from Marchal put an end to that and won the third set for App State.
Troy would force a fifth set by narrowly winning the fourth. The Trojans had four players record an ace in the set, helping them rally back from an early 7-4 App State advantage. The Mountaineers had 6 errors in the set, as sloppy play gave up key points and allowed Troy to retain momentum and tie the match once more.
Once again, App State came to play in the fifth set. The Mountaineers and Trojans traded points early, with Marchal recording an ace and combining with sophomore middle blocker Ava Leahy on a block.
Things looked to swing back in Troy’s favor when they took the lead after App State committed 3 errors in the span of 4 points. Winterhoff decided to take matters into her own hands, getting a clutch solo block to give the Black and Gold the lead. Their advantage was cemented when Troy committed 3 straight errors, and App State would not trail for the rest of the set. The Mountaineers won on a Marchal kill, extending their win streak to seven games.
Troy denied the Mountaineers a fourth consecutive Sun Belt series sweep on Friday. The Trojans defeated App State in 4 sets, 25-22, 16-25, 31-33, 21-25.
App State came out firing on all cylinders to start the match. The Mountaineers jumped out to a 17-6 lead in the first set, racking up 3 aces and capitalizing on 5 errors by the Trojans.
Troy made it very close at the end of the set, highlighted by setter Addison Kersting serving 3 straight aces to help the Trojans pull within two points and saving 3 straight set points to put the pressure on the Mountaineers. App State would survive the onslaught and win the set on a Marchal kill.
Having the momentum on their side, Troy quieted the Mountaineers’ attack in the second set. The Trojans scored the first 3 points of the set and never relinquished the lead. Troy also racked up 3 aces in the set and scored 7 points off App State errors.
The third set was arguably the craziest the Black and Gold have played all season. Troy won 6 of the first 8 points and led 21-14 thanks to 10 App State errors up to that point. App State then orchestrated a furious comeback, winning 11 of the next 14 points to save a Troy set point and force extra points.
After the Mountaineers forced extra points where a team must win by two, App State and Troy were unable to convert on a combined 7 straight set points. A combination of clutch kills, costly errors and a lengthy replay review extended the set for at least 15 minutes until Troy was finally able to break through. Trojans middle hitter Sydney Austin followed up a Winterhoff service error with an ace to win the set. Austin’s ace was the only one in the set for both teams, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Trojans.
The Mountaineers came out flat in the fourth set, falling behind 4-2 early after an ace from Trojans outside hitter Tori Hester and never fully recovering. Troy later went on a 8-1 extended run to pull further away. Despite App State collecting 2 aces in the set and closing within 3 points late, they were unable to complete the comeback as Troy ended the Mountaineers’ win streak.
App State had one of their best seasons since joining the Sun Belt Conference in 2014. The Black and Gold finished the regular season with a 17-8 overall record, going 11-3 in conference play. They swept four Sun Belt opponents, including three in a row and clinched their first East Division title since 2018.
Looking ahead to the Sun Belt Tournament, the Mountaineers will face the winner of the play-in game between Georgia State and Troy. App State swept Georgia State in their regular season series, and having just played Troy, the Mountaineers should be well prepared to face the Trojans if they win that match. App State will have to win three straight elimination games in order to claim their first Sun Belt Tournament title and a ticket to the NCAA tournament.
The Sun Belt Tournament begins Thursday and concludes with the championship match Nov. 24. All tournament matches will be played at the Foley Events Center in Foley, Alabama, and will also be streamed live on ESPN+.
