Friday saw the Mountaineers fend off East Tennessee State in dramatic style in five sets and drop the late game to Kennesaw State in straight sets. On Saturday, the Mountaineers soundly beat Gardner Webb in straight sets to end the weekend with a 3-3 record.
App State defeated East Tennessee State in come-from-behind fashion for their second win of the season, with the final being 16-25, 25-20, 25-27, 25-15, 15-13.Â
In front of a raucous home crowd of over 1,200 that featured students and faculty from nearby elementary schools as part of Education Day festivities, the Mountaineers put on quite the show, going down two sets to one to the Buccaneers but rallying back to win the final two sets to pull off the victory.
Junior middle blocker Maya Winterhoff and freshman outside hitter Maddie Smith each had outstanding games. Winterhoff had four blocks, Smith recorded eight digs and both players secured 15 kills each. Junior libero Kenady Roper also shined, racking up 10 digs.
The Black and Gold were stymied against Kennesaw State in straight sets. The Owls made it to the ASUN conference tournament semifinals last season and used that experience to capture an intense first set, then hold off multiple rallies from the Mountaineers in the second and third sets.
The Friday doubleheader played out eerily similar to App State’s doubleheader the week prior at the Bobcat Invitational, where it took five highly competitive sets to win the first game of the day, only to lose the second game in straight sets.Â
The good news for the Mountaineers is that they were able to keep the second game closer, showing clear signs of improvement in their serving and aggressiveness at the net.
Saturday was App State’s most complete game of the season thus far, comfortably defeating Gardner-Webb in straight sets, 25-21, 25-17, 25-22, to stay undefeated against the Runnin’ Bulldogs.
Smith and Winterhoff again had great games, with Smith collecting 14 kills and Winterhoff three blocks. Sophomore right side Ava Leahy had a stellar performance as well, racking up 10 kills and two blocks.
The Black and Gold had a standout performance behind the service line, notching up seven service aces compared to Gardner-Webb’s two. Redshirt junior setter Addison Heidemann had more aces than the entire Runnin’ Bulldogs roster combined with three, and freshman setter Julianna Horta served up two aces of her own.
The Mountaineers will look to build on their momentum Sept. 12-14 when they welcome Clemson, Winthrop and Wofford to Boone for the Black and Gold Invitational. All games will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
