BOONE, N.C. - After going 18-9 (11-5 SBC) during the regular season and winning the last 11 of 12 matches, the App State volleyball team earned the East Division No. 4 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament in Foley, Ala. The Mountaineers will open tournament play on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. CT) against the West Division No. 5 seed, Louisiana. All tournament matches will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and live stats will be available for each match.
The winner of Thursday's match will advance to Friday's 8:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. CT) quarterfinal match against this West Division No. 1 seed and last year's runner-up, Texas State.
Last Time Out
App State closed the regular season with a pair of victories over Louisiana on Nov. 11 and 12. The Mountaineers swept the Ragin' Cajuns on Friday, which marked App State's sixth sweep on the season. Senior McCall Denny and sophomore Lulu Ambrose split the team lead in kills with 12 apiece. Denny also led the team in digs with nine. Senior Sam Bickley posted the team-high in assists (20) and served up one ace. Fellow senior Sarah Missroon went up for four blocks.
On Saturday, App State defeated Louisiana, 3-1. Denny posted a double-double, her 11 of the season, notching 15 kills and 12 digs. Bickley recorded 23 assists as well as two aces. Freshman Maya Winterhoff totaled six blocks on the afternoon.
Denny has posted a team-high 329 kills this fall while junior Sophie Cain has earned a team-high 556 assists. Leading the Black and Gold in the aces and blocks categories is freshman Maya Winterhoff, who has 35 aces and has totaled 98 blocks. Fellow freshman Kenady Roper holds the team high in digs with 286.
For the season as a whole, Winterhoff ranks third in the conference in the hitting percentage category and sixth for SBC-play. Missroon is third in the conference for blocks for the season as well as league-only play. Freshman Alyssa McBean checked in at fifth for aces for the season as well as conference-only action. McBean is tenth in the digs category for the season. App State ranks fourth in the league for aces this season as well as in Sun Belt play.
Last Time at the SBC Tournament
App State and Louisiana met in the first round of last season's Sun Belt Tournament as the No. 6 and No. 3 seeds, respectively. The Ragin' Cajuns advanced to the second round after sweeping the Mountaineers, 3-0. During the match, Denny posted a team-high 11 kills while Bickley led the Mountaineers in assists, earning 15. Cain served up a team-high three aces and posted the second-most assists (13) and digs (6).
Scouting Louisiana
The Ragin' Cajuns went 14-11 (8-8 SBC) this fall. Over the course of the season, Louisiana tallied five sweeps and went on a five-match win-streak from Oct. 20 to Nov. 3. Louisiana checks in at third in the Sun Belt in the blocks category for the season and league-only play. The Ragin' Cajuns also rank fifth in the digs category for conference play.
Coco Gillett leads the Ragin' Cajuns in kills (187), aces (30), and digs (315). Gillett checks in at eighth in the conference for aces during SBC play. Leading the team in assists is Reka Kotorman with 523. Louisiana's team leader in the blocks category is Cami Hicks, who has totaled 94 on the season. Hicks ranks second in the league in hitting percentage and fourth in blocks for conference-only action.
The Ragin' Cajuns went 15-11 (9-7 SBC) last fall. After defeating App State in the first round of the 2021 SBC Tournament, the No. 3 seeded Ragin' Cajuns fell to No. 2 seeded Coastal Carolina in three sets in the quarterfinals (Nov. 19).
Sun Belt Tournament
The Sun Belt Tournament will be held at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex, Nov. 16-20. The tournament champion will punch their ticket to the NCAA Championship. The selection show and official bracket reveal for the NCAA Championship is set for Nov. 27.
