AKRON, OHIO- Appalachian State University bounced back Friday afternoon, as the Mountaineers handed tournament-host Akron a 3-0 loss in the Black and Gold's first match of the Akron Invitational. After squeaking out a hard-fought first set win 25-20, ASU then went on to pick up second and third set victories by 25-22 and 25-20 margins. The win improves Appalachin to 7-1 on the season, while the Zips drop to 3-4. It also makes ASU a perfect 5-0 when playing away from its home floor.

Making their 2010 home debut, Akron came out on fire in the opening set, taking a 4-0 lead with Paiton Twitty and Alex Cocklin pacing the Zips' offensive attack.

However, Appalachian was able to get things going, as Alison Blasingame tallied two kills and the Apps capitalized on two Akron errors to tie play at 4 apiece.

Action was knotted eight more times, before back-to-back Mountaineer errors gave Akron the lead once more, putting AU up 20-18.

The outcome appeared bleak for the Black and Gold as Akron kept its two-point cushion, clinging to a 23-21 advantage.

Picking up its pace at the right time, Appalachian's offense was productive down the stretch, with Anna Wagner and Blasingame tallied kills to knot the set at 23.

Both teams had opportunities to put the set away, but it was the Apps who came through in the end, as Kelly Rhein drilled a kill and Blasingame recorded an ace to push ASU to the hotly-contested two-point first set win.

Blasingame finished with eight kills, two aces and three block assists. She also recorded the set winning point in both the first and third sets.

ASU carried its momentum into the second set, grabbing a 4-1 lead, as Blasingame was unstoppable on the offensive front.

Despite the early advantage, Appalachian saw its lead dwindle to one point at 11-10, and eventually Akron tied play at 11 all.

The back and forth affair was knotted five more times, before Ohio native Caroline Sedon came through for the Apps tallying a kill.

Sedon's kill was all the push the team needed, as that coupled with a Rhein kill, an Akron attack error and a final Rhein service ace propelled Appalachian to another two point set win.

Rhein ended the match with a team-best 11 kills to go along with 12 digs and two block assists.

Trying to rally a comeback of sorts, the Zips would not back down, as they took the lead early in the third set.

Similar to the first two sets, play was tied five times before reaching the 10-point mark. The Mountaineers then went on a 5-1 run, as sophomore Meghann Forshey recorded a kill and Lauren Brown had a service ace.

The Zips could never recover from the Apps' silencing streak, and the Mountaineers rolled to a third set and 3-0 match win.

With a quick turnaround, Appalachian takes to the court at 5 p.m. to play Saint Francis (Pa.) in their second match of the Appalachian Invitational. The Red Flash were defeated earlier in the day 3-1 by Indiana State.