ATLANTA, Ga. -- Appalachian State volleyball will take on sixth seed Arkansas State in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Tournament on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. at Georgia State. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
DIVISION CHAMPS
For the first time since the Sun Belt moved to a division format in the 2016 season, Appalachian State was crowned East Division champs...The Mountaineers finished with a 13-3 mark in conference play, including a perfect 10-0 record versus Sun Belt East Division opponents.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
The Black and Gold posted the 15th 20-win season in program history after going 21-7 during the regular season...The Mountaineers closed the regular season on an eight-match winning streak, marking the second time this season App State has had a win streak of at least six contests...The last time Appalachian had a multiple winning streaks of at least six contests was in the 2004 season...Becky Porter leads the conference is assist average at 10.71 a/s...Porter is also just four assists shy of 1,000 for the season...Emma Reilly leads the Mountaineers and sits second in the Sun Belt in service aces per set, averaging 0.39...Reilly is also third in the conference in digs per set (4.42)...Emma Longley sits third in the conference in total kills (368) and kills per set (368).
SUN BELT ALL-CONFERENCE
Appalachian State had four members earn All-Sun Belt honors and also had a Newcomer of the Year...Becky Porter was named First Team All-Sun Belt and Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year after joining the Mountaineers this season as a transfer from N.C. State...She has a team-high nine double-doubles and leads the Sun Belt in assists per set, averaging 10.71...She posted 40 or more assists in 11 contests this season, including a career-high 62 on Sept. 7 against Utah Valley..Emma Longley was named First Team All-Sun Belt and has proven to be one of the top offensive players in the Sun Belt. She ranks third in the conference in kills per set, averaging 3.76. Longley has recorded five double-doubles on the season and has posted double digit kills in 22 of 28 contests.
Emma Reilly earned Second Team All-Sun Belt honors after playing the whole season as the Mountaineer libero. She recorded double digit digs in 26 matches, including the last 18 contests. She sits second in the conference in service aces per set (0.39) and third in digs per set (4.42). Kara Spicer notched double digit kills in 13 matches on the season. She leads the team blocks per set (0.98) and ranks second in hitting percentage at .289.
SCOUTING THE RED WOLVES
The Red Wolves, seeded sixth in the tournament, posted a 3-1 victory over Coastal Carolina on Friday...Carlisa May paced Arkansas State with 18 kills and 10 digs...Macey Putt added 13 kills and 12 digs...Ellie Watkins dished out 43 assists and Tatum Ticknor had 19 digs...May was tabbed as Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year collecting 497 kills on the season for a 4.73 kills per set average, which was tops in the league in both categories...Watkins earned Second-Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors after finishing fourth in the league with 1,013 assists and a 9.74 assists per set average.
THE SERIES
Arkansas State holds a 7-1 edge in the series...App State won the lone meeting in the 2018 season in Boone by a 3-2 score (25-20, 25-19, 25-27, 25-27, 15-10).
UP NEXT
The winner of Saturday's contest will advance to the Sun Belt Tournament championship and face either top seed Texas State of fourth seed Little Rock at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
