As has become a summer tradition, appstatesports.com is counting down Appalachian State University athletics' 30 most memorable games, matches and meets from the 2015-16 academic year. This year's countdown begins on Tuesday, July 5 and will continue until Tuesday, August 2.
Be sure to check appstatesports.com each day to relive all of the Mountaineers' most lasting memories of an exciting and successful 2015-16.
Volleyball Sweeps Into Sun Belt Title Match
November 21, 2015
STATESBORO, Ga. – With a dominating 3-0 straight-set sweep of Texas State on Saturday afternoon, Appalachian State University volleyball cruised into the Sun Belt tournament championship match on Sunday against Arkansas State.
“I can't tell you how proud I am of this group,” said head coach Matt Ginipro. “All 15 of them came down here on a mission and have approached each day with an amazing mentality. Today was the result of that. Jess and Em wanted to win the match entirely by themselves and everyone just followed their lead. Paige was phenomenal, as usual, and I'm so happy that she is now our career assist leader.”
The biggest storyline for the Mountaineers (22-7) outside of advancing to the conference championship was senior setter Paige Brown moved into first place all time on the career assist list with a 37 assist performance. Brown now has tallied 4,413 career helpers.
Jess Keller once again led a stout offensive attack for the Black and Gold and finished with 17 kills and hit .571 for the match. Emily Corrigan also finished with double-digit kills with 12. Defensively, Meghan Mahoney led the defense with 15 digs.
In the opening set, Appalachian was able to create some breathing room with a four point lead at 12-8. Lots of Mountaineers got involved early in the first with kills from Ashton Gregory, Corrigan, Keller and Brown. The Bobcats would battle back and tie it at 14-14 and the set would be tied five more times.
At 19-19, a service ace from Olivia Reed and a Keller kill back-to-back forced a Bobcat timeout and put App State up 21-19. Texas State would get to within one, but App State would stave off the Bobcats and back-to-back kills from Corrigan to seal the set.
The Bobcats, however, in the second set would see themselves with a three point lead toward the middle of the set. Down 11-8, the Mountaineers would engineer a 3-0 run to tie it at 11-11. With the Bobcats garnering a small advantage, App State would keep clawing to regain the lead. With the Apps down 18-16, a 7-1 run from the Black and Gold would propel them into the lead at 23-19.
The run was keyed by four-straight attack errors from Texas State and the Mountaineers would get kills from Corrigan, Brown, Gregory and Keller to finish off the second set and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
With a back and forth battle to begin the third set, App State took control about midway through with a 9-3 run down 9-7. The 16-12 lead was acquired beginning with consecutive kills from Keller and later Alana Shoff added two kills. App State would stretch its lead to 17-12, but Texas State began to claw its way back.
The Bobcats would get to within three points on two occasions, at 20-17 and 24-21, but would not get any closer and the Mountaineers would sweep their way into the Sun Belt title match on Sunday afternoon.
The Mountaineers and Red Wolves will square off at 1 p.m. on ESPN3 for the opportunity to advance into the NCAA tournament.
Appalachian State Athletics' Most Memorable Moments of 2015-16
No. 30: Women's Tennis 4, Georgia Southern 2 (April 20, 2016)
No. 29: App State Knocks Off No. 24 Duke (December 15, 2015)
No. 28: Another 8-7 Walkoff Win Clinches Series Victory (April 4, 2016)
No. 27: Apps Catch Fire in Resilient Win (January 28, 2016)
No. 26: Mountaineers Receive Votes for AP Top 25 (October 15, 2015)
No. 25: Men's Tennis Ousts Troy, Advances to SBC Semis (April 22, 2016)
No. 24: Apps Down GSU with Clutch Plays in Late Moments (Feb. 27, 2016)
No. 23: Frank Eaves Nets 1,000 Career points in 76-67 Win over GSU (Jan. 21, 2015)
No. 22: Jalin Moore Breaks Freshman Rushing Record in 47-20 Win (Nov. 14, 2015)
No. 21: Van Ord Leads App State with 10,000-Meter Win - Sun Belt Champ (May 13, 2016)
No. 20: Broaden Claims Sun Belt Title in 400-Meter Hurdles - Sun Belt Champ (May 13, 2016)
No. 19: Moriarty Cards Career-Low 65; Ties Program Record (March 7, 2016)
No. 18: Pepper Butler Graduates During Special Ceremony (March 19, 2016)
No. 17: Mountaineers Down NJIT, Advance to SBC Semifinal (Nov. 12, 2015)
No. 16: Women's Golf Wins Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate (April 4, 2016)
No. 15: Men's and Women's XC Take Home Second at SBC Championships (November 1, 2015)
No. 14: Dawson Secures First Win as Head Coach (August 30, 2015)
No. 13: Mountaineers Walk Past No. 23 South Alabama, 4-3 (April 15, 2016)
No. 12: Apps Down Little Rock, Advance to Semi-Final Match (November 4, 2015)
No. 11: Denzel Dejournette Wins SoCon Wrestler of the Year (March 2, 2016)
No. 10: Keller Named Offensive Student-Athlete of the Year (November 19, 2015)
No. 9: Blair Headlines 13 All-Sun Belt Honorees (December 9, 2015)
No. 8: Gorham Throws Gem in Game Two vs. UL Lafayette (May 7, 2016)
No. 7: Mountaineers Belt Ga. Southern, End Eagles' Streak (October 22, 2015)
No. 6: Volleyball Sweeps into SBC Title Match (November 21, 2015)
