BOONE, N.C. -- Behind a career-high 20 kills from
Madison Baldridge, App State volleyball defeated ETSU 3-1 (17-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-19) in its final match of the Black & Gold Challenge on Saturday.
Baldridge finished with a sizzling .870 hitting mark, registering her 20 kills on 23 attempts, with zero errors.
McCall Denny also reached double figures in kills with 10 and
Daryn Armstrong added five.
Sam Bickley had a near double-double with 35 assists and nine digs.
Emma Reilly paced App State (3-3) with a team-high 14 digs.
In the opening set, ETSU (2-4) broke a 4-4 tie with three consecutive points. The Buccaneers never trailed again in the opening set, taking it by a 25-17 count.
In Set 2, the Buccaneers jumped out to a 10-6 lead, only to see App State answer with six of the next seven points to take a 12-11 lead. Leading 14-13, the Mountaineers used a 7-0 run to build a 21-13 lead, eventually winning the set 25-17.
Set 3 saw the Mountaineers score four straight points to open a 12-8 lead. With the score tied at 16-16, App State used a kill from Baldridge and a Buccaneer attack error to take an 18-16 lead. The Mountaineers pushed their lead to 24-18 and a kill from Armstrong two points later gave App State the set 25-19 for a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth set, ETSU jumped ahead 12-10, but the Mountaineers rallied to tie the score at 13-13. The Buccaneers scored the next three points, but the Mountaineers used kills from Baldridge and Denny along with an ETSU attack error to tie the score at 16-16. App State broke a 17-17 tie with five straight points, capped off by a Baldridge kill. The Mountaineers never looked back, taking the final set 25-19 to clinch the victory.
The Mountaineers registered 46 kills and hit .252 in the win, marking the second time this season they have hit .250 or better (hit .262 against Radford).
App State will host its third consecutive tournament next weekend at the Holmes Convocation Center. The Black and Gold welcome Charlotte on Sept. 10 at 7 p.m., followed by a 12:30 p.m. contest against Bellarmine and a 7 p.m. meeting with Wake Forest on Sept. 11. All three matches will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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