BOONE, N.C. – App State volleyball dropped a 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-17) home Sun Belt contest to South Alabama on Friday evening.
McCall Denny paced the Mountaineers (5-12, 1-4 SBC) offense with a match-high 14 kills. She added seven digs.
Lulu Ambrose and
Victoria Wilform each chipped in with seven kills apiece.
Defensively,
Emma Reilly recorded 18 digs.
Sophie Cain dished out 29 assists.
In the opening set, App state jumped in front 8-7 on a kill from Cain. South Alabama (12-5, 5-0 SBC) answered with three straight points to take an 11-8 lead. App State battled back to tie the score at 16-16 on an attack error by the Jaguars. South Alabama won four of the next five points to take a 20-17 edge. The Mountaineers pulled within 23-22 on a kill from Ambrose, but South Alabama won the next two points to clinch the set.
In the second set, the Jaguars broke a 6-6 tie with four consecutive points. App State pulled within 13-12, but the Jaguars scored five consecutive points to build an 18-12 advantage. The Mountaineers pulled within four points, but could get no closer falling 25-18.
In Set 3, South Alabama jumped out to an early 7-1 lead. The Mountaineers pulled within three points at 15-12. The Jaguars slowly pulled away and closed the match with three consecutive points for a 25-17 set victory.
Maddie Soboleski paced the Jaguars with 12 kills, while Kailey Keeble had 29 assists and eight digs.
App State looks to bounce back on Sunday against Troy. Serve is set for 12:30 p.m. in the Holmes Convocation Center and on ESPN+.
