SPARTANBURG, S.C.- Appalachian State University volleyball snapped a two match losing skid Sunday afternoon, as the Mountaineers edged Southern Conference South Division foe Wofford in a 3-2 thriller.
The victory improves the Apps to 14-7 on the season, matching their total number of wins from a season ago and 5-3 in SoCon action, while the Terriers drop to 12-13 overall and 2-6 in conference play.
The hard-fought match was closely contested as three of the five sets were decided by a two-point margin.
After Wofford evened the match at two sets apiece, ASU came out strong in fifth set play and took a 10-6 lead off an Anna Wagner kill.
A Lauren Swecker kill and block assist by Caroline Sedon and Alison Blasingame increased ASU's advantage to five points, its largest of the set.
Wofford tried to make a comeback, pulling within one point off a service ace and Appalachian attack error, but a final slam by Maggie Seeds earned the Black and Gold the exciting 3-2 match and 15-13 fifth set win.
First set play was tied 13 times before it reached the 19 point mark, as the back and forth affair saw both teams battle.
Offensive contributions by Sedon and Wagner paced Appalachian's offense, with Sedon tallying three kills and Wagner registering one.
However, after play was knotted at 19, back-to-back Wofford points by Catelyn Amende and Amanda Liguori gave the Terriers a two-point lead.
Liguori was one of four Terriers to total double-figure kills, finishing with a team-best 13, in addition to having 16 digs.
Continuing to come up big on the offensive end down the stretch, both Sedon and Wagner scored five points for ASU in the final plays, as Sedon had a kill and two aces and Wagner had two kills, including the set-winner to earn the Apps the narrow 26-24 first set win.
Wagner ended the contest with a stout stat line, posting a match-high 14 kills, while also recording 19 digs and four block assists.
Early errors plagued ASU in the opening plays of the second set, as the Apps could never seem to find a rhythm.
Three consecutive attack errors and a Wofford ace pushed the Terriers to a commanding 9-2 lead, one that Appalachian was never quite able to recover from.
Picking up its pace, the Apps did rally to tie action at 14, as Seeds got going offensively and ASU was able to take advantage of Wofford miscues.
A 7-3 run Wofford run however, proved to be the difference maker in the set, as the Terriers went up 21-17 and hung on for the four point second set victory, to tie the match at one all.
An Appalachian hitting error saw Wofford grab a 17-15 lead in the third set, but points by Wagner, Blasingame and Seeds in addition to solid Mountaineer blocking enabled the Apps to regain the lead at the 22-19 mark.
Kills by Swecker and Wagner was all it took to push Appalachian the 25-20 third set win.
Trying to keep the match alive, Wofford did not back down in fourth set play, despite Appalachian coming out on fire, taking the 6-1 early lead, thanks in part to multiple Terrier errors.
The set was knotted for the ninth time at 21 all, before a Wagner slam put Appalachian on top 22-21.
Neither squad could quite shake its opponent until two Wofford kills earned the Terriers the 26-25 lead.
A final point by Liguori enabled Wofford to eke out the 27-25 fourth set win and push the match to five sets.
Appalachian was able to hold on for a challenging fifth set victory, and notch its 14th win of the 2010 campaign.
In addition to Wagner, both Blasingame and Seeds capped off the match with double-digit kills, while Kasey Sauls poured in 34 assists.
Concluding their four-match road trip, Appalachian returns to the High Country for two home matches. ASU first hosts SoCon rival Davidson, Saturday, October 23, with the match set to start at 7 p.m. in the Holmes Center.
