BOONE, N.C. - The App State volleyball team will travel to Winston-Salem, N.C. for a pair of matches at the Wake Forest Invitational this weekend. The Mountaineers will take on host Wake Forest on Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. Friday's match will be available to stream on ACCNX. The Black and Gold will round out competition with a 4 p.m. match against Davidson on Saturday. The Mountaineers enter the tournament 5-4 (0-0 SBC) on the season.
Last Time Out
Junior
Kenady Roper and freshman
Elise Marchal were named to the Black & Gold Invitational All-Tournament Team last week for their efforts on the court. Over the course of the tournament, Marchal totaled 30 kills, 39 digs, 11 blocks, and four aces. Roper tallied 34 digs, 10 assists, and two aces on the weekend
App State fell to Clemson in three sets (23-25, 25-27, 15-25) on Sept. 12. Marchal led the team in the kills category (13) and digs category (12) for her first career double-double and posted a hitting percentage of .542. Junior
Maya Winterhoff recorded 11 kills in addition to a hitting percentage of .304, while freshman
Julianna Horta made a team-high 37 assists. App State matched Clemson in kills (43) and made 42 assists compared to Clemson's 36 as well as 46 digs to Clemson's 44.
On Sept. 13, the Black and Gold swept Winthrop in three sets (25-20, 25-18, 25-23). Senior
Lulu Ambrose, Winterhoff, and Marchal each slammed down nine kills. Winterhoff recorded a hitting percentage of .529 and Marchal posted a hitting percentage of .474. Ambrose and sophomore
Ava Leahy went up for seven blocks apiece, while Horta registered her first career double-double with 33 assists and 10 digs. The Mountaineers led Winthrop in blocks (12-5), kills (40-39), and assists (35-33).
The Mountaineers capped the Black and Gold Invitational with a five-set victory (16-25, 25-18, 17-25, 25-18, 15-12) against Wofford on Sept. 14. Winterhoff led the Mountaineers in kills (15) and blocks (nine), while recording a hitting percentage of .364. Ambrose and Leahy also slammed down 13 kills apiece. Horta recorded her second career double-double with 47 assists and 15 digs. Roper was the Mountaineers' leader in the digs category, recording 20. She also made six assists.
Ranked Mountaineers
Winterhoff continues to lead the Sun Belt with a hitting percentage of .429 and rounds out the top-20 in the NCAA. She also ranks fourth in the league in the points category with 136. Horta stands fourth in the Sun Belt for total assists (245). Roper rounds out the top-10 in the league in the total digs category with 106. App State ranks fourth in the league for hitting percentage (.220) and rounds out the top-five in the Sun Belt in team assists (396) and team kills (427).
Scouting the Tournament Field
The Mountaineers, Wildcats, and Demon Deacons met at the 2023 Davidson Tournament (Sept. 14-15).
App State vs. Wake Forest | Friday | 7 p.m. | ACCNX
App State and Wake Forest have met on 13 occasions, with the Demon Deacons leading the series, 9-4. In their last meeting on Sept. 15, 2023, the Mountaineers fell short to Wake Forest after five hard-fought sets.
Paige Crawford and Sahara Maruska lead the Demon Deacons in the kills category, each tallying 74 this season. Crawford, who averages 2.70 kills per set, also has the second-most aces (14) and digs (67) on the team. Tina Grkovic holds a team-high 55 blocks on the season. She ranks second in the league and sixth nationally in total blocks. Additionally, Grkovic stands second in the ACC and 13th in the NCAA in blocks per set (1.53). Serving up a team-high 16 aces on the season is Rian Baker, who ranks fourth in the ACC for her efforts. Becca Bellows leads the team in the assists category with 183. In the digs category, Emma Farrell leads the team with 128, averaging 3.37 digs per set.
Wake Forest is 6-3 (0-0 ACC) on the season thus far and enters Friday's match fresh off of a trio of victories at the South Carolina Invitational. The Demon Deacons edged past Florida International, 3-2, swept Stetson, 3-0, and downed South Carolina, 3-1, last week. Earlier in the season, Wake Forest posted five-set victories over West Virginia and Toledo, in addition to sweeping Navy. Wake Forest's trio of losses come at the hands of Hofstra (Aug. 30), Iowa State (Sept. 6), and Illinois (Sept. 8). Wake Forest leads the ACC and ranks fourth in the NCAA for total team blocks (104). The Demon Deacons also rank fourth in the ACC and 24th nationally in the blocks per set category (10.68).
App State vs. Davidson | Saturday | 4 p.m.
App State leads the series with Davidson, 30-19. The Mountaineers last met with the Wildcats on Sept. 14, 2023, falling short in four sets at the Davidson Tournament.
Leading the Wildcats in the kills category is Isabel Decker with 115, averaging 2.97 kills per set. Decker rounds out the top-five in the total kills category in the A10. Jordan Hummel leads the team in aces (16) and digs (147). Hummel leads the A10 in total digs, ranks fourth in the league in digs per set, and rounds out the conference's top-five in service aces. Kinsey Smith leads the team with 220 assists, averaging 6.11 per set, while Emma Slusser leads the team in the blocks category with 17.
Davison is 4-5 (0-0 A10) on the season. The Wildcats edged past Queens, 3-2, and defeated William & Mary, 3-1, before falling to USC-Upstate in five sets at the Queens Invitational last weekend. Davidson opened the season with a pair of sweeps against Elon and Marshall. From Aug. 31-Sept. 8, the Wildcats dropped a quartet of matches to ETSU, Duke, LSU, and FIU. Davidson leads the A10 in team assists (475), team digs (529), and team kills (502). The Wildcats also stand second in the league and 17th in the nation in assists per set (13.19).
Looking Ahead
The Mountaineers will open Sun Belt action on the road in Harrisonburg, Va. against James Madison on Sept. 26 and 27. Both matches are slated for 6 p.m. start times and will be available to stream on ESPN+.
