HARRISONBURG, Va. – Appalachian State Volleyball dropped a hard-fought match to Georgetown to open play at the JMU Classic on Friday, Sept. 16.

The Mountaineers (5-6) nearly came from behind late in each set but the Hoyas (6-5) were able to stave off ASU's comeback attempts to take a 3-0 (25-22, 27-25, 25-23) victory.

Both squads would trade blows throughout the first set as neither led by more than one point until the Hoyas snagged a 23-21 lead en route to a first set win.

The second set featured another close battle as the Mountaineers battled back from an early five-point deficit (13-8) with five straight points to tie the set at 13 apiece.

Appalachian would force Georgetown to call a time out after taking a 19-17 lead late in the set. The Hoyas came out of the break with three points in a row to regain the lead at 20-19.

With their backs to the wall late in the match, the Apps would not go quietly as they staved off defeat twice in the closing stages before Georgetown pulled away for a 27-25 set win.

The Mountaineers found themselves in an early hole (7-1) in the third and final set but battled back to tie it at 11-11 before eventually taking a 13-12 lead.

The Hoyas answered with seven of the next eight points to take a 19-14 lead. Appalachian would rally to tie the match at 22-22 before eventually falling by a score of 25-23.

As a team, the Apps hit .240 and held the Hoyas to a .206 attack percentage. Georgetown finished with 21 errors while the Mountaineers committed just 14 but hit only .094 in the third set.

Jessica Eley (Kansas City, Mo./Bishop Miege) finished with eight kills and hit .500 while Meghann Forshey (Glen Allen, Va./Deep Run) also had eight kills while hitting .412.

Kasey Sauls (Prairie Village, Kan./Shawnee Mission East) ended the day with 18 assists and Lauren Brown (Overland Park, Kan./Saint James Academy) chipped in with 11 of her own.

The Hoyas finished with a 9-8 edge in blocks and were paced by nine kills each from Dani White and Alex Johnson.

The Mountaineers continue tournament play tomorrow then they face East Tennessee State at 10 a.m. ET before finishing their nine-match road swing with a 7:30 p.m. match against tournament host James Madison.