Mountaineers Grind Out Five-Set Win Over Georgia State

ATLANTA, Ga. -- The Appalachian State volleyball team improved to 2-0 in the Sun Belt with a 25-16, 25-27, 25-18, 23-25, 15-9 victory at Georgia State on Saturday evening.

App State (10-4, 2-0 SBC) has now won its first two Sun Belt contests for the first time since the 2015 season. The Mountaineers are also off to their best start since the 2015 season.

The Black and Gold found themselves knotted at two sets apiece with Georgia State (3-8, 0-1 SBC) and headed to a fifth and deciding set. In Set 5, the Mountaineers broke a 2-2 tie with an 8-1 run to jump out to a 10-3 lead. The Panthers would pulled four points at 11-7, but the Black and Gold rebounded and closed out the victory on a kill by Lexi Kohut.

In the opening frame, the Black and Gold scored five straight points to open up a 15-10 lead. The Mountaineers closed the set strong, winning the final three points of the frame, with two kills coming Melissa McMath, to post a 25-16 victory and grab a 1-0 lead.

After Georgia State took the second frame, App State used a 5-1 run to open a 13-9 edge in the third set. The Panthers trimmed the Mountaineer lead to one point, but Appalachian rebounded and pulled away for a 25-18 victory.

The Panthers captured Set 4 in a back-and-forth frame, setting up the deciding fifth set, where the Mountaineers emerged victorious by a 15-9 count.

On offense, Emma Longley and Kara Spicer each posted 17 kills. Spicer hit .404 in the contest and added six digs. McMath chipped in with 16 kills and Kohut tallied 10 kills with a .304 hitting percentage. Becky Porter registered her team-best fifth double-double of the season with 59 assists and 13 digs.

Emma Reilly recorded 20 digs in the win, marking the third time this season she has notched 20 or more digs. Sydney Farthing and Sydney Hinds each had 13 digs.

As a team, the Black and Gold finished with 71 kills, which ranks as their second highest of the season. 

Appalachian State will now return to the High Country for four Sun Belt contests, beginning on Friday at 6:30 p.m. against ULM. The Mountaineers will follow that with a 12:30 p.m. matchup with Louisiana on Sept. 30.