BOONE, N.C. – App State volleyball dropped a tough 3-2 (26-24, 15-25, 22-25, 26-24, 15-11) decision to Georgia State on Friday evening and Senior Night.
App State honored
Daryn Armstrong,
Grace Kinsch,
Anna Kincaid,
Sammy Luscher,
Emma Reilly and
Victoria Wilform prior to the start of the contest.
In the opening set, Georgia State (7-16, 4-9 SBC) opened a 22-18 lead. App State (7-18, 3-10 SBC) battled back to pull within a point at 23-22 on a block assist from Wilform and Kincaid. Following a point for the Panthers, the Mountaineers used a Panther attack error and a kill from
Sam Bickley to tie the score at 24-24. From there, Georgia State won the next two points to take the opening set 26-24.
In Set 2, the Mountaineers used a 4-0 run to take a 11-7 lead. The Mountaineers used another 4-0 spurt later in the set to take a commanding 19-10 lead, en route to a 25-15 victory.
Set 3 saw the two teams knotted at 18-18, before the Mountaineers scored five straight points, capped by a block assist from
McCall Denny and Kincaid to take a 23-18 advantage. The Panthers pulled within two points at 24-22, but a kill from Denny clinched the set and gave App State a 2-1 lead.
Georgia State opened a 17-12 lead in the fourth frame, but App State battled back to tie the score at 20-20. The Panthers scored three of the next four points to open a 23-21 edge, but the Mountaineers tied the score at 24-24 on a kill from Wilform. The Panthers used a kill and attack error from the Mountaineers to win the set 26-24 and force a deciding frame.
In the fifth set, the Panthers jumped out to an 8-2 lead. App State chipped away and pulled within a point at 10-9 off a Georgia State attack error. The Panthers scored four of the next five points to open a 14-10 edge. Following a service error, Georgia State got a kill to clinch the set and match.
Wilform paced the Mountaineer offense with a career-high 20 kills on a .372 hitting mark. She added 12 digs for her second double-double of the season. Wilform also tallied three block solos, a block assist and three service aces.
Denny finished with 18 kills on a .255 hitting percentage. She added nine digs. Armstrong added a career-best eight kills on a .389 hitting mark, while Kincaid added seven kills, two block solos and three block assists.
Bickley dished out 49 assists and had nine digs.
Emma Reilly also reached double figures in digs with 12.
In all, the Mountaineers tallied 62 kills and hit .248 as a team.
App State will have a quick turnaround and host Georgia Southern on Sunday afternoon in the Holmes Convocation Center at 12:30 p.m. The match will also be streamed on ESPN+.
