BOONE, N.C. -- After playing their last eight matches on the road, Appalachian State volleyball will return to the Holmes Center and open a four-match home stand this weekend with a pair of contests. The Mountaineers will take on ULM on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and host Louisiana on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
50 YEARS IN WOMEN'S SPORTS
The Mountaineers will commemorate 50 years of women's sports at Appalachian State against ULM on Friday evening. The Black and Gold will warm up in special 50 years of women's sports shirts and will also play a video acknowledging the anniversary. For more information on 50 years in women's sports at Appalachian State,
click here.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
The Mountaineers have won their last four contests and six of their last seven. App State stands at 10-4 on the season and sits atop the Sun Belt East Division with a 2-0 mark. Last weekend, the Mountaineers posted a 3-0 (27-25, 25-20, 25-18) sweep at Georgia Southern to begin conference play. App State followed that with a 3-2 (25-16, 25-27, 25-18, 23-25, 15-9) victory at Georgia State to cap a perfect opening weekend. In the win over Georgia State, four Mountaineers reached double figures in kills.
Emma Longley and
Kara Spicer each had 17 kills, with
Melissa McMath tallying 16.
Lexi Kohut added 10 kills. It marked the second time this season that the Black and Gold have had three players post 15 or more kills in a match.
Becky Porter notched her team leading fifth double-double of the season with 59 assists and 13 digs. Also reaching double-figure digs were
Emma Reilly (20),
Sydney Farthing (13) and
Sydney Hinds (13).
On the season, Longley leads the team in kills with 175 (3.65 k/s). Her total sits third in the Sun Belt and her average ranks fourth. Porter ranks second in the league averaging 10.77 a/s, with Reilly sitting atop the league in service aces (24) and service aces per set (0.49). As a team, the Mountaineers ranks second in the league with 13.86 k/s and third in hitting percentage (.238).
SCOUTING THE WARHAWKS
ULM fell twice in its opening weekend of Sun Belt play versus Texas State 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-19) and UT Arlington 3-1 (25-22, 25-12, 15-25, 25-23). The Warhawks rebounded with a 3-2 (25-20, 20-25, 25-17, 17-25, 15-10) in non-conference action at Louisiana Tech on Tuesday. In the victory over Louisiana Tech, Catherine Griffith posted 17 kills on a .389 hitting percentage, with Mikaela Worley also recording 17 kills. Taylor Wood chipped in with 15 kills and a .353 hitting mark. Both Tara Jenkins (24 assists, 12 digs) and Presleigh Williams (24 assists, 10 digs) recorded double-doubles in the win. On the season, Griffith leads the team with 122 kills (2.35 k/s), with Kate Blasingame right behind with 103 kills (2.19 k/s). Jenkins has tallied 202 assists (4.04 a/s), with Williams totaling 142 (4.58 a/s). On defense, Albany Schaffer had a team-high 160 digs (3.02 d/s), while Wood has posted 65 total blocks, which sits second in the conference.
SCOUTING THE RAGIN CAJUNS
Louisiana enters with a 9-7 mark and 1-1 clip in the Sun Belt. The Ragin Cajuns opened Sun Belt play with a 3-1 (15-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-18) win over UT Arlington, before falling 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 25-18, 25-15) to Texas State. Against Texas State, Nia Antoine led the way with 15 kills, with Hanna Rovira chipping in with 11 kills and six digs. Avery Breaux posted a double-double with 18 assists and 11 digs. Hali Wisnoskie leads the team with 174 kills on the season (3.00 k/s) and is followed by Antoine, who has 133 (2.29 k/s) and Rovira (131; 2.26 k/s). Dree'Ana Abram (106) and Desiree Johnson (103) also have posted over 100 kills this season. Sydney Davis has a team-high 251 digs (4.33 d/s), with Breaux totaling 144 digs (2.48 d/s) this season.
SERIES RECORDS
Appalachian State and ULM have met five total times, with the Mountaineers holding a 4-1 edge in the series. The Black and Gold have won three straight over the Warhawks, with the last two coming as sweeps. Louisiana holds a slim 4-3 advantage in the all-time series with App State. The Ragin Cajuns have captured the last three matchups, including two last season.
NEXT UP
The Mountaineers will continue their four-match home stand next weekend. On Oct. 5, App State will host Little Rock at 6:30 p.m. in Varsity Gym. On Oct. 7, the Mountaineers will return to the Holmes Center for a 12:30 contest versus Louisiana.
