Volleyball Readies for Pair of Key Meetings with Coastal Carolina

BOONE, N.C. -- In a battle of the top two teams in the Sun Belt East Division, Appalachian State volleyball will take on Coastal Carolina in back-to-back matches over the weekend. On Friday, the Mountaineers will welcome the Chanticleers to the Holmes Center for a 5 p.m. contest. App State will make a return trip to Conway on Sunday for a 12:30 p.m. match. The Black and Gold currently sit at 5-3 in the Sun Belt East Division, which is just a half game behind the Chanticleers who stand at 5-2 in first place.

DIG PINK
Friday's contest inside the Holmes Center will be App State's annual Dig Pink. The High Country Breast Cancer Foundation will be on hand on the main concourse to raise awareness. In addition, the Mountaineers will warm up in pink warm ups.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
The Mountaineers dropped a pair of contests in Texas last weekend to fall to 13-7 on the season and 5-3 in the Sun Belt. The Appalachian offense features four players that have registered at least 100 kills in Emma Longley (261), Kara Spicer (183), Melissa McMath (150) and Victoria Wilform (115). Becky Porter leads the Mountaineers with a .296 hitting mark, with Anna Kincaid second at .285 and Spicer right behind at .284. The Black and Gold defense features five players with at least 100 digs in Emma Reilly (314), Porter (164), Sydney Farthing (148), Sydney Hinds (129) and Longley (125). Spicer leads the team with 67 blocks (15 solo, 52 assists), with Porter sitting second with 44 (five solo, 39 assists). In the Sun Belt, Porter sits second in assists per set at 10.67, while Reilly ranks second in the league in service aces per set, averaging 0.41. As a team, App State is averaging 13.76 kills per set, which sits second in the Sun Belt.

SCOUTING THE CHANTICLEERS
Coastal Carolina comes into play with a 6-9 overall record and a 5-2 mark in the Sun Belt, which sits atop the East Division. Offensively, Anett Nemeth leads the team with 214 total kills and an average of 3.82 k/s. Nemeth's 3.82 k/s average ranks second in the conference. Kyla Manning has also posted over 100 kills, totaling 169 on the season. Sara Boothe leads the Chanticleers with 445 assists (8.40 a/s). Defensively, Coastal Carolina features four players with over 100 digs in Sydney Alvis (193), Nemeth (154), Carla Cahill (116) and Boothe. Nemeth also is tops in the team in blocks with a total of 39 (nine solo, 30 assists). 

THE SERIES
Coastal Carolina holds a 9-4 edge in the series and has won the last six meetings between the two schools.

UP NEXT
Following Sunday's contest in Conway, the Mountaineers will welcome South Alabama to the Holmes Center on Oct. 26 for the first of four consecutive home contests.