TUCSON, AZ. – Appalachian State volleyball topped Samford 3-2 and fell to No. 24-ranked Arizona 3-0 on Day 1 of the Cactus Classic to open the 2019 season.
In the decisive fifth set against Samford (0-2), the Mountaineers (1-1) found themselves down 7-4, before rallying to tie the score at 9-9. App State captured the next two points thanks to block assists from
Amya Giger and
Kara Spicer and a kill from
Victoria Wilform. Samford battled back to tie the score at 13-13, before kills from Wilform and Spicer clinched the set and victory for App State.
The opening frame featured 11 ties. The two teams found themselves knotted at 22-22, before a kill from Wilform and back-to-back attack errors from the Bulldogs gave the Black and Gold the opening set.
Samford used a 7-0 run to open a 16-8 lead in Set 2. App State would pull within four points at 23-19, before two straight Bulldog points gave them the second frame 25-19.
Samford jumped out to a 17-11 lead in the third set. From there, App State scored five consecutive points to trim the Bulldog lead to 17-16. The Mountaineers jumped in front 19-18 on a kill from Spicer and never gave the lead back, winning the set 25-21.
The Bulldogs opened a commanding 13-5 lead in the fourth set and never trailed, taking the frame 25-11 and forcing the deciding fifth set.
Emma Longley, Spicer and Wilform each had 12 kills to pace the Mountaineer offense. Longley also had 11 digs for her first double-double of the season.
Sam Bickley dished out 39 assists and
Emma Reilly (19) and
Sydney Farthing (12) reached double digit digs.
Against Arizona (1-0), the Mountaineers were paced by Longley, who tallied a match-high 13 kills to go along with seven digs.
Spicer added six kills, Giger had five kills and Wilform finished with four kills.
Bickley dished out 25 assists and Reilly posted a match-high 20 digs on defense.
A kill from Longley in the opening set cut the Wildcat lead to 10-6. From there, Arizona won eight of the next nine points to open an 18-7 advantage, en route to a 25-12 victory.
In Set 2, Arizona jumped out to a 6-4 lead, only to see the Mountaineers respond with four straight points, capped off by two service aces from
Grace Kinsch, to take an 8-6 lead. With the score knotted at 10-10, the Wildcats scored four straight points to take a 13-10 lead and pushed their lead to 20-14. App State would pull within four at 22-18, but the Wildcats ultimately took the second set 25-19.
The third set was tight in the early going, featuring eight ties. With the score tied at 11-11, Arizona scored three consecutive points to take a 14-11 lead. Following a kill from Longley, the Wildcats scored five of the next six points to take a 19-13 edge. After another Longley kill, Arizona scored the final six points of the contest to post a 25-14 set victory to clinch the match.
The Mountaineers will close out play at the Cactus Classic on Saturday at 1 p.m. EST against Loyola Marymount.
