ROCK HILL, S.C. – Appalachian State volleyball topped Furman 3-0 but fell to Winthrop 3-1 in a pair of matches on Friday.
Against Furman (0-10), App State (4-8) used a 4-0 run in the first set to jump in front 11-6. Furman tied the score at 13-13 and eventually opened a 18-16 lead. Facing a set point, the Black and Gold got a kill from
Emma Longley to tie the set at 24-24. Trailing 26-25, App State used a kill from
Amya Giger and a service ace from
Emma Reilly to take a 27-26 lead. The Paladins won the next two points to jump in front 28-27, only to see the Black and Gold record three consecutive kills, with two coming from
Kara Spicer and one from
McCall Denny, to win the opening set 30-28.
In Set 2, the Mountaineers used a 7-0 run to turn a 10-8 lead into a 17-8 edge. Leading 19-10, the Black and Gold won six straight points to close out the set and take a 2-0 lead.
App State opened a 12-5 advantage in the third set. The Paladins responded with 11 of the next 12 points to take a 16-13 lead midway through the stanza. App State trimmed the deficit to one point, but saw the Paladins reel off four consecutive points to take a 21-16 lead. The Mountaineers came right back with a 5-1 spurt to tie the set at 22-22. The Black and Gold saved a set point at 25-24 on an attack error and took the lead on another service ace from Reilly. Following a Furman point, the Mountaineers got a kill from Giger and an attack error to win the set 28-26 and finish off the sweep.
Longley paced the App State offense with a match-high 15 kills on a .351 hitting mark, while adding eight digs. Spicer added 14 kills on a .321 hitting percentage.
Denny tallied a career-high 15 digs and added eight kills. Reilly chipped in with 15 digs and five service aces, while
Sam Bickley dished out 36 assists.
Against Winthrop (7-3), Longley posted her team-high fifth double-double with a season-high tying 23 kills and 13 digs. Spicer also reached double figures in kills with 13.
Three other Mountaineers posted double digit digs. Reilly led the way with 23,
Sydney Farthing had a season-high 15 and Denny had 14.
Sammy Luscher dished out 29 assists, while adding seven digs and Bickley had 17 assists.
Winthrop opened an 18-11 lead in Set 1, but the Black and Gold countered with five straight points to trim the deficit to 18-16. App State pulled within 21-19 before four straight Winthrop points clinched the opening frame 25-19.
In the second set, a kill from
Grace Morrison tied the score at 7-7. Winthrop answered with five of the next six points to take a 12-8 lead. App State battled back to tie the score at 18-18, only to see the Eagles open a 23-20 lead. Following a Winthrop service error, the Eagles won the final two points to win the set 25-21 and take a 2-0 lead.
Winthrop opened a 12-11 lead before three straight App State points allowed them to jump in front 14-12 midway through Set 3. The Mountaineers used a 4-0 spurt later in the set to open a 20-15 lead. Winthrop cut the Mountaineer lead to 24-23 late in the frame, but a kill from Spicer forced a fourth set by a 25-23 count.
Set 4 saw the Black and Gold open an early 8-4 advantage. The Eagles tied the score at 11-11 and used a 4-0 run to take a 15-13 lead. Trailing 22-21, the Eagles won three straight points to finish off the set 25-21 and clinch the victory.
App State will close out non-conference play tomorrow at 6 p.m. with a contest against Maryland in Columbia, S.C.
