BOONE, N.C. -- In front of a record crowd of 1,542, Appalachian State volleyball improved to 2-0 in Sun Belt play with a 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-10, 25-18) victory over Georgia Southern on Sunday afternoon in the Holmes Center.
Four players reached double figures in kills for App State (6-9, 2-0 SBC).
Victoria Wilform led the way with a career-high 17 kills on a .552 hitting mark.
Emma Longley added 15 kills,
Kara Spicer finished with 11 and
Grace Morrison tallied a season-high tying 10.
Emma Reilly recorded a match-high 23 digs on defense for the Black and Gold. Reilly has now reached 20 or more digs in three of her last four matches and also moved into eighth place in program history in career digs.
Sydney Farthing chipped in with nine digs,
Grace Kinsch and Longley each had eight and
Sam Bickley added seven digs. Bickley also dished out 48 assists in the victory.
With the opening set tied at 13-13, the Mountaineers scored three consecutive points, including back-to-back kills from Longley, to take a 16-13 lead. App State never relinquished the lead and used a kill from Spicer to take the opening frame 25-21.
Set 2 saw the Black and Gold take a 15-12 lead on a kill from
Daryn Armstrong. The Mountaineers held the led for the majority of the set, but saw the Eagles (5-8, 0-2 SBC) rally to win the final four points of the set to win it 26-24 and even the match at a set apiece.
The Black and Gold responded strong in the third set, using a 6-0 run midway through the stanza to open a 13-5 lead. The Mountaineers led by as many as 15 points in the frame, ultimately taking a 2-1 lead in the contest with a 25-10 victory. In the set, the Mountaineers posted a perfect 11-of-11 mark on side out points.
In the fourth set, App State scored four points early on to build an 8-4 advantage. The Mountaineers used another 4-0 run later in the set to build an eight-point lead at 18-10. Georgia Southern pulled within four points, but could get no closer as a kill from Wilform clinched the set and victory.
The Black and Gold finished with 58 kills and a .233 hitting percentage, while limiting Georgia Southern to a .119 hitting mark, which is the second lowest hitting percentage by an opponent this season.
The Mountaineers will embark on a five-match Sun Belt road trip, beginning with a pair of matches in Louisiana next weekend. App State will take on Louisiana on Friday at 7:30 p.m. EST and ULM on Oct. 6 at 1 p.m. EST.
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