BOONE, N.C. - The App State volleyball team is headed to Greenville, N.C. for the ECU Tournament on Friday and Saturday. The Mountaineers will take on Bethune-Cookman at 11 a.m. on Friday before returning to the court at 4 p.m. to take on Campbell. App State will close out the tournament with a clash against East Carolina at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Saturday's match will be available to stream on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
App State had a commanding performance at their season opening tournament, sweeping William & Mary, Bellarmine, and Tennessee Tech at the Mountaineer Classic in Boone on Aug. 25-26.
Fifth year senior
McCall Denny, sophomore
Maya Winterhoff, and freshman Delanie Grevegoed were named to the Mountaineer Classic All-Tournament team. Denny was also named Tournament MVP after totaling 25 kills, 24 digs, four aces and four solo blocks over the course of the weekend. In her debut in the Black & Gold, Grevengoed tallied 23 kills and recorded a hitting percentage of .364 in addition to seven block assists and six digs through the three matches. Winterhoff totaled 17 blocks (six solo, 11 assists) during the tournament. She also tallied 19 kills and a hitting percentage of .317 over the weekend.
In Friday's matinee against William & Mary, Winterhoff recorded a hitting percentage of .700 and six blocks (five solo, one assist), while Denny posted a team-high eight kills as well as 10 digs. Sophomore
Kenady Roper posted a team-high 11 digs, while fellow sophomore
Katie Cruise tallied a team-high 14 assists. App State swept the Tribe, 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-19).
Later on in Friday's nightcap against Bellarmine, Grevegoed and junior
Lulu Ambrose both posted nine kills, with Ambose posting a hitting percentage of .563 and Grevegoed posting a hitting percentage of .500. Cruise recorded a career and team high 19 assists, while Denny earned seven kills. Winterhoff and freshman
Ava Leahy each recorded four block assists. App State shut out Bellarmine, 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-19).
Returning to the court for Saturday's closer against Tennessee Tech, Denny slammed down a team high 10 kills in addition to seven digs. Grevengoed posted nine kills and a hitting percentage of .438. Senior
Sophie Cain and Cruise posted 15 assists apiece, while Roper tallied a team high 13 digs. At the net, Winterhoff went up for six blocks and Grevengoed went up for five blocks. App State completed its tournament trifecta with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-22) victory over Tennessee Tech.
Ranked Mountaineers
Winterhoff is currently ranked 10th in the NCAA and second in the Sun Belt for blocks per set, averaging 1.89. She is also ranked 31st in the country and second in the conference in total blocks (17).
Nationally, the Mountaineers are ranked 23rd in blocks per set, averaging 3.06. App State also ranks amid the top-50 in the NCAA in the hitting percentage category (.283).
Scouting the Tournament Field
App State vs. Bethune-Cookman | Friday | 11 a.m.
App State last met Bethune-Cookman on Oct. 9, 1993, sweeping the Wildcats, 3-0, at the Jacksonville Tournament. App State leads the series, 1-0.
Leading the Wildcats in kills (17) and aces (3) is Jasmine Moore. Madison Coates leads the team in assists with 35, Essence Bell has posted a team-high 28 digs, and Niara Hightower is the Wildcats' top blocker with 13.
So far, Bethune-Cookman is 0-3 (0-0 SWAC) on the season, after dropping a pair of contests to Marshall, and a contest to The Citadel at the Bash at the Beach tournament (Aug. 25-26) in Daytona Beach, Fla.
App State vs. Campbell | Friday | 4 p.m.
The Mountaineers hold a 6-0 win streak against Campbell in their six meetings. App State last met the Camels on Sept. 8, 2018, where they posted a sweep on the road at Buies Creek, N.C.
Gwen Wolkow is the Camels' top attacker with 32 kills and top server with five aces. McKenna Sciacca leads the team in assists (59), and Claranne Fechter leads the team in digs (44). Campbell's top blocker is Melody Paige, who has tallied 13.
This season, the Camels are 0-3 (0-0 CAA), after dropping contests to North Texas, Colorado, and UNLV at the Buffs Invitational in Boulder, Colo. on Aug. 25-26.
App State vs. East Carolina | Saturday | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
The Mountaineers hold a tight 7-6 lead in their series with East Carolina. App State last met ECU on Sept. 17, 2021, falling to the Pirates, 0-3 on the road.
Leading ECU in the kills category is Angeles Alderete, who has 24. Alderete and Lara Uyar each have a team-high four aces. Tia Shum leads the team in digs (41) and Carlia Northcross leads the team in blocks (10).
East Carolina is 2-1 (0-0 American) after sweeping UNC Greensboro twice and falling to Georgia Southern at the Bash in the Boro tournament in Statesboro, Ga. on Aug. 25-26.
ON DECK
App State will host North Carolina A&T, USC-Upstate, and UNC Greensboro for the Black & Gold Invitational on Sept. 7-9. The Mountaineers will clash with North Carolina A&T on Sept. 7 at 6 p.m. before taking on USC-Upstate at 11 a.m. on Sept. 8 for Education Day. The Mountaineers will close out the tournament with a battle against UNC Greensboro at 2 p.m on Sept. 9. All matches will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
