App State volleyball opened Sun Belt play with a statement, going on the road to Harrisonburg, Virginia, and sweeping rival James Madison. In doing so, App State jumped to the top of the East division as the only school with two conference wins.
The Mountaineers started their first conference series with a straight-set win over the Dukes on Thursday, 25-23, 25-23, 25-20.Â
It was an all-around solid performance from the Mountaineers, with contributions up and down the roster. Junior middle blocker Maya Winterhoff had another stellar game, as she was the only Mountaineer to reach double digits in kills and total points scored, with 11 and 13, respectively. She also recorded three total blocks.
To James Madison’s credit, App State could never pull far enough away to have a comfortable lead in any of the three sets. App State’s longest scoring run of the match was a 5-0 run in the middle of the second set, to which the Dukes responded by winning four of the next five points. When the Mountaineers tried to run away with the set, the Dukes had a 4-0 run of their own to keep them in contention. An emphatic kill from senior outside hitter Lulu Ambrose put a stop to that, allowing App State to win the set.Â
The Mountaineers had five separate 3-0 runs in the third set, including one to end the match. Although the margin of victory in the final set was just five points, it further demonstrated App State’s ability to go on a run at any time.
Friday saw a much closer and highly entertaining match, with App State orchestrating a ferocious comeback after dropping the first two sets to win, 23-25, 23-25, 25-21, 26-24, 15-9. The Mountaineers improved to 4-1 in games that go to five sets.
App State’s stars stepped up in a big way. Winterhoff, Ambrose, sophomore middle blocker Ava Leahy and freshman right side Elise Marchal all had at least 13 kills in the match. Winterhoff, Leahy and Marchal each recorded at least four blocks. Marchal added 17 digs, while Ambrose tacked on a service ace.
James Madison had more blocks and service aces than the Mountaineers, which allowed them to jump out to a two-set advantage. This was highlighted by a 5-0 run by the Dukes to end the first set, three of those points coming from blocks.Â
Despite James Madison having a 6-0 run early in the third set and collecting three service aces throughout the set, the Mountaineers climbed their way back with multiple runs of their own, including a 3-0 run to win the set.
The Dukes looked to have wrestled control of the match back late in the fourth set with an 8-0 run that included three service aces. However, App State showed resilience by winning four of the last five points, with Winterhoff collecting three kills in that span to even the match at two sets apiece.
The final set was all App State. After a 3-0 run by James Madison to start, the Mountaineers responded with a 4-0 run and ended the match with a 7-0 run to put away the Dukes.
The sweep improves the Mountaineers to 8-5 overall, with the all-time series against James Madison now even at six wins each.
App State was scheduled to welcome Louisiana to the High Country Oct. 4-5, but the games were canceled due to Hurricane Helene’s impacts on Boone. The Mountaineers will travel to Old Dominion on Oct. 11-12 to take on the Monarchs. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
