BOONE, N.C. - The App State volleyball team is set to host their second tournament of the season, the Black & Gold Invitational, on Sept. 7-9 in Holmes Convocation Center. App State will kick off the tournament with a 6 p.m. match against North Carolina A&T on Sept. 7 before hosting USC-Upstate at 11 a.m. on Sept. 8 for Education Day. The Mountaineers will close out the tournament with a 2 p.m. match against UNC Greensboro on Sept. 9.
All matches of the Black & Gold Invitational will be available to stream on ESPN+. There will be free admission for the 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 6 p.m. matches on Friday, Sept. 8.
Last Time Out
The Mountaineers picked up a trio of victories over Bethune-Cookman, Campbell, and East Carolina at the ECU Tournament in Greenville, N.C. on Sept. 1-2.
Junior
Lulu Ambrose, sophomore
Maya Winterhoff, and fifth-year senior
McCall Denny earned spots on the ECU All-Tournament team for their efforts on the court. Over the weekend, Ambrose tallied 35 kills, five blocks, and six digs. Through three matches, Winterhoff recorded a hitting percentage of .490 as well as 28 kills, 17 blocks (one solo, 16 assists), seven digs, and one ace. Denny made 38 kills and 38 digs over the weekend as well as eight blocks, and three aces. She also recorded two double-doubles. Denny and Winterhoff also earned spots on the Mountaineer Classic All-Tournament team in August.
In App State's 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-16) sweep of Bethune-Cookman on Friday morning, the Mountaineers held the Wildcats to less than 20 points in each set with 18 of 20 Mountaineers seeing playing time on the court. Freshman
Delanie Grevengoed led the team in kills with 11 and posted a hitting percentage of .647. Redshirt freshman
Katie Cruise and senior
Sophie Cain each posted double-digit assists with 22 and 17 each. Sophomore
Kenady Roper recorded a team-high 10 digs and junior
Lily Harvey posted a team-high four blocks.
The Mountaineers returned to the court for a five-set thriller against Campbell on Friday afternoon, defeating the Camels 3-2 (28-30, 21-25, 25-19, 25-16, 15-9). Denny, Ambrose, and Winterhoff each posted double-digit kills. Sophomore
Alyssa McBean, Roper, Denny, and Cruise posted double-digit digs. Winterhoff recorded a hitting percentage of .478 in addition to seven blocks. Cain and Cruise once again led the team in the assists category, with Cruise recording her first career double-double (26 assists, 10 digs).
On Saturday, App State closed out tournament action with a 3-2 (25-23, 18-25, 19-25, 27-25, 15-13) victory against East Carolina. Ambrose, Denny, and Grevengoed led the team in kills, recording, 13, 12, and 11, respectively. Denny, Roper and McBean marked double-digit digs. Winterhoff went up for eight blocks and posted a .400 hitting percentage. Cain led the team in assists with 26 and made 11 digs for a double-double.
Ranked Mountaineers
Wintethoff leads the Sun Belt in hitting percentage (.411). Winterhoff also ranks second in the SBC and in the top-15 in the NCAA for total blocks (34) as well as second in the league and in the top-20 in the NCAA for blocks per set (1.55).
App State is one of 32 undefeated teams in NCAA Division I volleyball. The Mountaineers stand second in the conference and in the top-35 in the NCAA for blocks per set (2.68). App State also rounds out the top-30 in the NCAA for team total blocks (59).
Scouting the Tournament Field
App State vs. North Carolina A&T | Thursday | 6 p.m. | ESPN+
App State last met North Carolina A&T on Sept. 18, 2012, where they swept the Aggies, 3-0, in Boone. The Mountaineers lead the series, 9-0, against the Aggies. Six of App State's victories over North Carolina A&T were 3-0 sweeps.
Leading the Aggies in the kills and aces categories is Naiya Sawtelle, who has totaled 76 kills and 12 aces on the season thus far. Chiara Napoli has 157 assists on the season, while Morgan Allen leads the team in digs (54) and Maya Johnson leads the team in blocks (11).
North Carolina A&T is 1-4 (0-0 CAA) on the season. At the Virginia Cavalier Classic (Aug. 25-26), the Aggies split the weekend with a loss to Rutgers and a sweep of Rider. On Sept. 1-2, North Carolina A&T fell to Southern Illinois, Charleston Southern, and Chattanooga at the Charleston Southern Invitational.
App State vs. USC-Upstate | Friday | 11 a.m. | ESPN+
App State leads the series against USC-Upstate, 8-1, last meeting the Spartans at the Wofford Tournament on Sept. 2, 2022 at the Wofford Tournament. The Mountaineers won, 3-1, with
Madison Baldridge recording a team-high 13 kills. Denny and Winterhoff each posted 10 kills while Roper made a team-high 17 digs. Cain notched a double-double with 21 assists and 13 digs.
Ashleigh Nicoll leads USC-Upstate in kills (57) and aces (10). Kayla Spangler leads the team in assists (156) while Julia Gladhill leads the team in digs (80). In the blocks category, Ady O'Grady leads the Spartans with 17 on the season so far.
USC-Upstate is 4-2 (0-0 Big South) and coming to Boone off a road loss to Furman (Sept. 5). The Spartans posted a pair of sweeps against South Carolina State and Georgia State at the Wofford/Upstate Tournament on Sept. 2. USC-Upstate opened the season with the Eagle Challenge on Aug. 25-26, where they posted victories over Queens and Stonehill before falling to Morehead State.
App State vs. UNC Greensboro | Saturday | 2 p.m. | ESPN+
App State leads the series against UNCG, 28-25. The Mountaineers last met UNC Greensboro on Aug. 28, 2021 in Boone, falling to UNCG, 0-3.
Aylin Baran leads UNCG in the kills category with 39, while Mallory Meers leads in the assists category with 113. Madeline Timmerman leads the team in the aces category with nine. Leading the team in digs is Mya Wood with 64 and Daija Jackson leads in the blocks category with nine.
UNCG is 0-6 (0-0 SoCon) after making appearances at the Bash in the Boro (Aug. 25-26) and Marshall Invitational (Sept. 1-2).
ON DECK
The Mountaineers will close out non-conference action with the Davidson Tournament on Sept. 14-15. App State will take on Davidson at 7 p.m. on Sept. 14 and Wake Forest at 6 p.m. on Sept. 15.
Full Black & Gold Invitational Schedule
Thursday, Sept. 7
6 PM - App State vs. North Carolina A&T (
Stats,
Watch)
Friday, Sept. 8
11 AM - App State vs. USC-Upstate {Education Day} (
Stats,
Watch)
2 PM - North Carolina A&T vs. UNC Greensboro (
Stats,
Watch)
6 PM - UNC Greensboro vs. USC-Upstate (
Stats,
Watch)
Saturday, Sept. 9
11 AM - USC-Upstate vs. North Carolina A&T (
Stats,
Watch)
2 PM - App State vs. UNC Greensboro (
Stats,
Watch)
