BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State University volleyball will begin its run at the 2012 Southern Conference title when it opens league play at Chattanooga and Samford this weekend.
The Mountaineers (4-10) will square off against Chattanooga (6-9) at 6 p.m. on Friday before traveling to defending SoCon champion Samford (9-6) at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
SoCon Openers
• Appalachian State opens Southern Conference play on Friday at Chattanooga.
• The Mountaineers are 4-1 in SoCon openers under head coach Matt Ginipro.
• Appalachian State has won three-straight conference openers, including nine-straight victories in conference road-openers.
A Look at the Mountaineers
• Appalachian State picked up its fourth victory of the season, and second sweep of the year, with a 3-0 victory against North Carolina A&T on Tuesday.
• The Mountaineers put up arguably their best performance of the season, hitting an incredible .338 on the attack while winning by scores of 25-11, 25-12 and 25-14.
• Lindsey Sauls and Dalton Tolliver combined for 23 of the team's 37 kills and committed just five errors in 43 combined attempts.
• The Apps also picked up solid performances from Paige Brown and Meghan Mahoney, who each came up huge at the service line.
• App State scored nine-straight points with Brown at the service line in the first set while Mahoney was on the line for a 10-0 run in the second set.
• The Mountaineers held the Aggies to a .081 attack percentage and tallied six total blocks in the contest.
• Appalachian trailed just twice in the match at 1-0 and 3-2 in the second set as it rolled to a win in the home opener.
• The victory moved the Mountaineers to 25-8 in home openers.
Leading the SoCon
• Appalachian State finds itself ranked at the very top of the Southern Conference in blocks per set.
• The Mountaineers are averaging 2.22 blocks per set this season, nearly an entire half-block ahead of College of Charleston (1.98).
• The Apps have also been solid when it comes to digs, averaging 15.6 per set, the sixth-best mark in the conference.
• Jessica Eley and Lauren Gray are two of the top blockers in the SoCon.
• Eley is averaging 1.09 blocks per set to lead the conference while Gray ranks sixth with 0.91 blocks per set.
• Courtney Rhein ranks third in the conference in digs with 4.75 per set.
• Jacqui Spurgeon ranks 10th in the league with 2.94 kills per set.
In the National Rankings
• The Mountaineers rank in the top-100 nationally in two categories.
• App State is 93rd in digs per set (15.6) and 98th in blocks per set (2.22)
• Additionally, senior libero Courtney Rhein ranks 64th in the nation in digs per set (4.85).
Record Watch
• Appalachian State is poised to have a new career leader in digs by seasons' end. Senior libero Courtney Rhein needs just 284 digs to become Appalachian's all-time leader.
• Rhein has posted at least 530 digs in each of the past two seasons and should easily surpass the record of 1,828 digs.
• She would become App State's all-time digs leader despite playing just three full seasons as the team's primary libero.
• Rhein, who currently ranks third in school history with 1,545 digs, needs 155 more to move into second place.
Scouting the Mocs
• Chattanooga enters Friday's contest with a 6-9 record after dropping three matches at the Indiana Hoosier Classic last weekend.
• The Mocs dropped contests to Indiana, Miami (Ohio) and Valparaiso.
• Chattanooga began the season on a three-match winning streak, but is just 3-9 over its past 12 contests.
• Julimar Alvaredo and Christina Teter lead the Mocs offensively with 2.49 and 2.42 kills per set, respectively.
• Teter is also Chattanooga's top blocker as she has tallied 44 blocks on the season.
• Bridget Camacho has established herself was one of the top setters in the SoCon with an average of 9.43 assists per set.
• The Mocs are hitting just .192 on the attack this season but have performed well defensively, limiting opponents to a .200 attack percentage.
• Appalachian State and Chattanooga have met 59 times on the volleyball court with the Mountaineers holding a 37-22 edge.
• The Mountaineers have won three-straight matches in the series including a two-match sweep last season.
• App State is 6-4 against the Mocs under head coach Matt Ginipro.
Scouting the Bulldogs
• Samford, the defending Southern Conference champion, enters the weekend with a record of 8-6.
• The Bulldogs, who have won seven of their last eight matches, will face Western Carolina on Friday night before taking on the Mountaineers.
• Samford is led on offense by Michaela Reesor, who leads the team with 3.22 kills per set.
• Also leading the charge offensively are Lauren Hutchinson and Elizabeth Neisler, who each average better than 2.7 kills per set.
• Hutchinson is one of the SoCon's premier players as she ranks third in the league with a .357 attack percentage.
• Casey Garvey is one of the top setters in the conference, averaging 10.87 assists per set.
• As a squad, the Bulldogs have posted a .241 attack percentage this season while limiting opponents to .180.
• Appalachian State is 5-3 all-time against Samford and has swept the Bulldogs in each of the past two seasons.
Up Next
• App State will face Elon (Sept. 29) and UNCG (Sept. 30) at home before heading back on the road in SoCon play.
