STATESBORO, Ga. – The App State volleyball team's run in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) was cut short by Northern Colorado in the first round on Friday. The Mountaineers battled through four sets, falling short, 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 12-25, 22-25). Friday's match marked the Mountaineers' first appearance in the NIVC Tournament since 2018 and third appearance in the tournament in program history.
"I am beyond proud of the season we had," said head coach Sarah Rumely Noble. "While we didn't get the result we wanted today against a talented Northern Colorado team, we battled. I can't thank our senior class enough for leaving this program better than they found it. What an incredible season this has been."
Northern Colorado 3, App State 1
A trio of Mountaineers slammed down double-figure kills, led by junior
Maya Winterhoff, who made 13 kills with a .458 hitting mark. Winterhoff also went up for three blocks (one solo, two assists). Senior
Lulu Ambrose made 12 kills, in addition to four digs, an ace, and a block. Ambrose caps her career at App State with 1,038 career kills, 271 career digs, and 146 career blocks (14 solo, 132 assists). Freshman
Elise Marchal made 11 kills in addition to five digs, three blocks (two solo, one assist), and one assist. Junior
Ava Leahy recorded a hitting percentage of .333 and made eight kills for the Mountaineers. Redshirt junior
Addison Heidemann made 39 of App State's 45 assists and 10 digs for her 11th double-double of the season. Junior
Kenady Roper led the team with 17 digs, coming within three of 1,000 career digs. Sophomores
Taylor McNear and
Caroline Farthing recorded 12 and 11 digs, respectively. App State recorded seven aces to Northern Colorado's five and 60 digs to UNC's 52. App State wraps the season with an 18-10 (11-3 SBC) record.
Farthing opened the match with an ace for the Mountaineers. App State commanded the lead in the first set and only allowed Northern Colorado to knot the score at 1-1. Building off kills from Ambrose and Heidemann, as well as a Heidemann ace, App State established a 5-2 lead. With a kill and ace combo from Ambrose as well as kills from Winterhoff and Marchal, the Black and Gold pulled ahead, 10-5. The Mountaineers took a 19-14 lead, building off kills from Leahy, Heidemann, Ambrose, Winterhoff, and Marchal, as well as a block from the duo of Winterhoff and Marchal. The Mountaineers broke 20 points after Heidemann set Leahy up for a kill. With another kill from Leahy and a pair of Northern Colorado service errors, App State reached set point, 24-19. The Mountaineers clinched the first set, 25-20, after a Marchal kill.
In the second set, App State and Northern Colorado knotted the score eight times and traded the lead thrice. Ambrose opened the set with a kill. As Northern Colorado pulled ahead, a pair of back-to-back kills from freshman
Bella Hutchens brought the Mountaineers within one (6-5). With a 3-0 run that included back-to-back kills from Leahy and a kill from Ambrose, the Mountaineers took a 9-8 edge. App State took a 14-10 lead with a 4-0 run after kills from Winterhoff and Marchal, a solo block from Winterhoff, and a Heidemann ace. A trio of Marchal kills and an ace from the freshman kept the Mountaineers ahead, 18-15. The Bears managed to catch up, meeting the Mountaineers at 18-18 and 20-20. Despite a kill from Winterhoff, the Bears took the set, 25-23.
In the third set, Northern Colorado established an early 5-1 lead. An ace from Heidemann and kill from Winterhoff brought the Mountaineers within one of UNC's 6-5 lead. As the Bears pulled ahead, 11-5 with a 5-0 run, Marchal went to work, slamming down a pair of kills and going up for a solo block. As the Bears extended the deficit with a 9-0 run, kills from Ambrose and Winterhoff cut into the lead. Northern Colorado took the set, 25-12.
The Mountaineers and Bears fought through a tight fourth set, tying the score on nine occasions and trading the lead three times. The Black and Gold took a 7-3 lead, building off kills from Ambrose and Winterhoff, as well as a solo block from Marchal. As the Bears took a 12-9 lead, App State answered with a 7-1 run. Ambrose slammed down three consecutive kills, which Winterhoff followed with a pair of kills of her own. The duo also went up for a block to push the Mountaineers ahead, 16-13. As the Bears edged ahead, 17-16, Heidemann set Winterhoff up for a kill to knot the score at 17 all. Down 21-18, the Mountaineers went on a 3-0 run to meet the Bears at 21 all with a kill from Leahy and an ace from Marchal. A kill from graduate student
Cierra Huntley knotted the score at 22-22. Northern Colorado mustered a 3-0 run to take the set, 25-22, match, 3-1, and advanced to Saturday's Super 16 match against the winner of Georgia Southern vs. Southeast Missouri.
