BOONE, N.C.- Appalachian State University volleyball continued with its strong play, as the Mountaineers beat Southern Conference North Division rival Elon 3-1 Saturday afternoon at the Holmes Center. The win is the Black and Gold's third straight, and improves ASU to 12-4 on the season and 3-0 in SoCon play, while Elon falls to 10-9 overall and 2-1 in league action.
After the score was 5-4 in Elon's favor in first set action, the Phoenix posted a 4-0 streak to push its advantage out to five points.
Down but not out, Anna Wagner got the Apps going, as she tallied a kill to pull the Black and Gold back within two.
Offensive production by Wagner, coupled with back-to-back kills by Alison Blasingame knotted action for the first time at 11 apiece.
Wagner was impressive in the contest, pouring in a match-high and tying a season-best with 13 kills. She also accumulated five digs and two service aces.
A Kelly Rhein kill gave Appalachian its first lead of the set, going up 14-13, but a back and forth battle ensued as play was tied six more times.
It was another kill by Blasingame that proved to be the difference-maker in the set, putting ASU up 21-20, a lead the Mountaineers would never relinquish.
Meghann Forshey tallied three kills down the stretch to push ASU to the hard-fought 25-22 first set win.
The Apps matched their stout first set play in second set action, as the set was knotted at six before a 6-2 Mountaineer streak proved to be too much for the Phoenix.
Wagner, Forshey and strong Black and Gold blocking paced ASU during the run.
Elon crawled back into the set however, with ASU clinging to a narrow one-point advantage in front just 14-13.
Three errors by Appalachian and kills by Caroline Lemke and Celia Eddy let Elon back into the set.
Lauren Swecker stepped up at the right time for ASU, extending Appalachian's lead to two points, with eventual Elon miscues and another Wagner kill pushing it back out to four and ending any hope Elon had of making a comeback.
The Phoenix tried to rally, by tallying two straight block assists, but a final kill by Maggie Seeds gave ASU the six-point second set win.
It appeared that Appalachian would have no trouble putting the match away, leading early 3-1 in third set play.
Elon would not give up though, as three Appalachian errors earned the Phoenix the 11-8 lead.
Continuing to try and comeback from its deficit, Appalachian tied the set at 17 off a Rhein kill, and grabbed the lead off a Blasingame point at the 22-21 mark.
Rhein also ended the match with another double-digit kill and dig outing, totaling 12 kills and 16 digs.
A Mountaineer service error and two Elon serving aces by Lizzie West, in addition to a final Black and Gold attack error gave the Phoenix the third set win.
Wasting no time trying to defeat its division rival, the Apps got down to business early in the fourth and what would be final set.
Blocking was ASU's strong point, as three block assists by Blasingame and Forshey, Rhein and Caroline Sedon and Sedon and Forshey earned the Apps the lead.
Sedon was dominant at the net, closing out the match with eight block assists and one solo block.
The senior now has a total of 320 block assists in her career, bumping her from sixth to fourth on Appalachian's individual career records all-time block assists list.
The Mountaineers used Sedon's solid play, and offensive fortitude by Wagner and Seeds to pound the Phoenix in the fourth set, and hand Elon a nine-point fourth set and 3-1 match defeat.
With little time to rest, ASU continues its homestand and its Dig Pink weekend festivities, as the Apps host UNCG, Sunday, October 3.The SoCon North division foes take to the court at 5 p.m. in the Holmes Center.
Notes: The 3-0 start to conference play is Appalachian's best start in league action since 2004 (4-0).
