BOONE, N.C. -- Four players recorded double figure kills and Appalachian State hit .354 as a team in a 3-1 (25-11, 22-25, 28-26, 25-14) victory over Western Carolina during the first day of the Appalachian Invitational on Thursday.
Emma Longley paced the balanced Mountaineer (3-5) offensive attack with a season-high 23 kills.
Kara Spicer added a season-best 18 kills,
Victoria Wilform tallied 13 kills and
Grace Morrison chipped in with a season-best 10 kills on a .643 hitting percentage.
Sam Bickley posted her second double-double of the season with 53 assists and 10 digs.
Emma Reilly finished with a match-high 27 digs and
Grace Kinsch added eight.
App State came out on fire in the first set, hitting .500 as a team with 14 kills against just two errors to cruise to a 25-11 set victory.
The Catamounts (2-5) battled back in Set 2. With the score tied at 16-16, Western Carolina scored two straight points to take a 18-16 lead. WCU never relinquished the lead for the remainder of the set, eventually taking the set 25-22 to knot the match at a set apiece.
Set 3 was tight through and featured eight ties and six lead changes. The Catamounts took a 24-23 lead on a kill, but App State won the next point to tie the score at 24-24. The Mountaineers saved a set point and jumped in front 26-25 on a kill from Wilform. Western Carolina tied the score back up at 26-26, but back-to-back errors by the Catamounts gave App State the set 28-26 and a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth set, the Mountaineers used an early 4-0 run and 5-0 spurt to build an 11-2 lead. Western Carolina got no closer than seven points the rest of the way, as the Black and Gold finished off the four-set victory 25-14.
Abigail Veit paced WCU with 16 kills, while Meagan Sanchez had 22 digs.
The Mountaineers will return to action on Friday at 6:30 p.m., as they continue play at the Appalachian Invitational with a matchup against Iowa State.
