MOBILE, Ala. –
Emma Longley had 20 kills and
Victoria Wilform added 15, but Appalachian State volleyball dropped a 3-1 (19-25, 25-12, 25-20, 25-19) road contest at South Alabama on Saturday.
Longley hit .304 in the contest and now has posted 20 or more kills in six matches this season. She also recorded the 1245th kill of her career to move into eighth place in program history.
Wilform has now reached double figures in kills 10 times this season, while registering 15 or more kills in three matches.
The Mountaineers (9-16, 5-7 SBC) hit .345 in the opening frame and opened a 12-6 lead thanks to a 4-1 run. App State expanded its lead to eight points at 18-10, but saw the Jaguars (19-8, 10-3 SBC) chip away at the lead, cutting it to two points at 21-19. Following a timeout, the Black and Gold captured the final four points of the set, getting a kill from Wilform and
Grace Morrison along the way, to take a 1-0 lead.
In Set 2, South Alabama took a 7-4 lead and then used a 5-0 run to take a 12-4 advantage. The Jaguars used another 4-0 run later in the set to take a 19-8 lead and went on to tie the match at a set apiece with a 25-12 second set victory.
In the third set, South Alabama scored the first five points to jump out to a 5-0 lead. App State battled back and used a 4-0 run later in the set to tie the score at 9-9. The Jaguars used a 5-1 run to take a 16-13 advantage. The Mountaineers pulled within a point three times, but could not tie the score, ultimately falling in the set 25-20.
In Set 4, App State went on an early 3-0 run to take an 8-7 lead. The score would be tied eight times before three straight Jaguar points gave them a 20-18 lead. Following a kill from Longley, South Alabama scored the final five points of the contest to clinch the stanza and match by a 3-1 count.
Sam Bickley dished out a match-high 46 assists, while
Emma Reilly tallied a match-high 16 digs.
App State will play its final two road contests of the regular season next weekend. On Nov. 8, the Black and Gold will battle Georgia Southern in Statesboro at 6:30 p.m. and then take on Georgia State on Nov. 9 in Atlanta at 6:30 p.m. The Mountaineers then close the regular season in Boone on Nov. 15 against South Alabama and Nov. 17 against Troy.
