BOONE, N.C. –– Appalachian State University volleyball was part of two firsts on Friday afternoon. Utilizing its first chance to play an exhibition game during the preseason, while also being the first team to play inside the Holmes Center with the brand new center hung video board.
The Mountaineers played four sets against the Southeastern Conference's South Carolina Gamecocks and split the match with each team winning two sets a piece.
"I thought today was great," said head coach Matt Ginipro. "Getting the chance to play an exhibition match is a huge addition to women's volleyball. It allows us to see what is working for us and what we need to improve before the season starts up next week. South Carolina is a big, physical team and exposed some things with our hitter that we'll need to work on. I thought our back row play was solid and I think it can get better. Our pin hitters struggled a bit, but Kara Spicer had a great match for a freshman middle. Overall, we did some nice things, need to lessen our errors and everyone got a chance to get on the court to get some experience. It's a good starting off point for App State volleyball."
Appalachian State had three players post double-digit kills on the night and were led by freshman middle blocker Kara Spicer's match-high 18 kills. Emma Longley finished with 17, while freshman Grace Morrison tallied 10.
Also offensively, senior setter Ashlyn Brown posted 35 assists to lead both teams on the afternoon, while Amanda Krahl collected 11.
Defensively, redshirt-junior Olivia Loeffler finished with a game-high 20 digs, while Brown finished with 12 and freshman Emma Reilly tallied 11. With Brown's 12 digs she achieved a double-double for the afternoon.
In the opening set, the Gamecocks jumped out to a 15-7 lead, but the Mountaineers engineered a 13-5 run to knot the set at 20-20. Unfortunately, the Mountaineers couldn't overcome back-to-back points from the Gamecocks and fell 25-22.
Longley tallied five kills in a set two victory. With the score 15-14 in App State's favor, the Mountaineers went on a small 4-1 run and forced a Gamecock timeout. Out of the break, the Gamecocks stormed back and took a 20-19 lead. The score would be tied two more times before a kill from Robinson and an attack error from South Carolina separated the two just enough for the Mountaineers to edge the set 25-23.
Both teams played a close third set and found themselves down 22-17 before closing the gap and tying the score at 23-23 after a kill from Spicer. Both teams traded leads before South Carolina received back-to-back errors to win the set 27-25.
After the Mountaineers took a 17-13 lead, forcing a Gamecock timeout, South Carolina constructed a comeback to knot the score four times before an attack error and a service ace from Krahl gave App State the 26-24 set win to tie the match.
Appalachian will open the regular season on Friday, August 25 against Missouri State inside the Holmes Center at 12 p.m.
