BOONE, N.C. -- Appalachian State senior outside hitter
Emma Longley posted the 1,000th kill of her career, but the Mountaineers came up on the short end of a 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-19) decision to Iowa State on Day 2 of the Appalachian Invitational.
Longley entered the match needing 12 kills to reach 1,000 for her career. She recorded her milestone kill in the third set and now had 1,0003 for her career.
The opening set was tight and featured 11 ties and two lead changes. Iowa State (5-3) broke a 13-13 tie with back-to-back points and took a 22-19 lead late in the frame. App State (3-6) trimmed its deficit to a point at 23-22, but the Cyclones won the final two points to grab the opening frame 25-22.
In Set 2, Iowa State score nine consecutive points to turn a 10-10 score into a 19-10 advantage. The Black and Gold pulled within six points late in the set, but Iowa State prevailed 25-16.
Kills from
McCall Denny and
Kara Spicer gave the Mountaineers a 13-11 lead in the third set. With the Black and Gold in front 14-12, the Cyclones reeled off six straight points to take a 18-14 lead. Iowa State expanded its lead to as large as six points and won the third set 25-19 to clinch the victory.
Longley paced the Mountaineer offense with a match-high 15 kills, including her milestone 1,000th. Spicer added 10 kills on a .421 hitting mark, Denny tallied a career-high seven kills and
Grace Morrison finished with six.
Sam Bickley dished out 39 assists and
Emma Reilly reached double figures in digs with 14.
In all, the Black and Gold tallied 41 kills and hit .234, while the Cyclones recorded 48 kills and posted a .456 hitting percentage.
App State will close out the Appalachian Invitational on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. against ACC foe N.C. State. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
