CHARLESTON, S.C. – The App State volleyball team finished competition at the Charleston Southern Tournament on Saturday, falling to St. John's (NY), 3-2.
"We played a hard-fought match and just came up short in the end," said head coach
Sarah Rumely Noble. "To battle back from being down 0-2 and push to a fifth set is never easy. I'm proud of our defensive effort and where we are at overall as a team after our first weekend out."
St. John's (NY) 3, App State 2
Senior
McCall Denny led the team in kills with 12 and notched nine digs. Sophomore
Lulu Ambrose followed with eight kills and freshman
Maya Winterhoff had seven. Winterhoff led the team in total blocks (9), followed by senior
Sarah Missroon, who had five. Junior
Sophie Cain led the team in assists with 21, while senior
Sam Bickley notched three service aces as well as 14 assists. Freshman
Kenady Roper totaled 16 digs on the day.
App State fell short in the first set, 25-21, after trailing a St. John's team that gained momentum early and maintained its lead throughout the set. The second set saw the Mountaineers keep pace with the Red Storm until St. John's managed to break away from a late 19-19 tie with a four-point run that distanced them enough to seal the second set, 25-20.
Down by two sets, the Mountaineers came out strong in the third, leading the Red Storm 5-0 after a service ace from Cain, back-to-back blocks from Winterhoff and junior
Meghan Dombrowski, a kill from Denny, and an attack error from the Red Storm. Tying at 14-14, App State pulled away with another five-point run, which included a service ace from Denny, a kill from sophomore
Lulu Ambrose, and a block from Winterhoff and Ambrose. The Mountaineers held to their lead to win the third set, 25-22.
App State continued to battle through the fourth set, maintaining a steady lead early with a four-point run that included back-to-back service aces from Bickley. Catching up to App State at 9-9, St. John's matched the Mountaineers point for point, but a pair of attack errors and a service error late in the set for the Red Storm gave the Black and Gold enough of an edge to take the fourth set 27-25.
St. John's bounced back in the fifth set, quickly building off of an early lead that App State was unable to overcome. The Red Storm won the fifth set 15-8, clinching the match, 3-2.
On Friday, App State split its opening day of play at the Charleston Southern Tournament. The Mountaineers swept California Baptist in three sets for Rumely Noble's debut as head coach. In the primetime match, App State fell to Charleston Southern in a hard-fought clash, 3-2.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will head to Spartanburg, S.C. for the Wofford Tournament, Sept. 2-3, where they will face USC – Upstate, Wofford, and Eastern Kentucky.
VolleyBucs VolleyPalooza All-Tournament Team
McCall Denny, App State
Maya Winterhoff, App State
Christine Graf, California Baptist
Schérine Dahoué, California Baptist
Indigo Young, Charleston Southern
Gia Pais Marden, Charleston Southern
Giorgia Walther, St. John's
Rachelle Rastelli, St. John's
