BOONE, N.C. – The App State volleyball team rose to 13-4 on the season (4-2 SBC) after completing a weekend sweep against Old Dominion (3-14, 0-6 SBC) with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-23) victory on Saturday. The Pink Day victory was punctuated by a career best performance from sophomore
Bella Hutchens, who slammed down 20 kills on a clip of .645.
"This was an emotional weekend matched with an emotional fight to get two wins in Holmes," said head coach
Chad Sutton. "This team continues to find ways to get it done. I'm very proud of the team's effort and continuing the fight. Go App."
App State 3, Old Dominion 0
Hutchens and senior
Maya Winterhoff combined for 30 of App State's 49 kills against the Monarchs. Winterhoff, who reached 1,000 career kills in Friday's 3-2 victory against ODU, contributed 10 kills with a hitting percentage of .400 in Saturday's sweep. She also made four blocks, including the Mountaineers' sole solo block of the day. Redshirt senior
Addison Heidemann registered her fifth double-double of the season (16th career) with 33 of App State's 40 assists and 11 digs. Additionally, Heidemann helped the Mountaineers to a team hitting percentage of .303. Sophomore
MeMe Davis led the Mountaineers with 17 digs and senior
Ali Morris also made double-figure digs on the afternoon with 10. The Black and Gold outpaced the Monarchs in kills (49-39), assists (40-35), and blocks (6-2).
Over the course of the first set, the Mountaineers and Monarchs tied on eight occasions and swapped the lead four times. Additionally, Hutchens accounted for 10 of App State's 18 kills in the first set alone. The Mountaineers jumped to an early 5-0 lead as Hutchens slammed down three kills, Winterhoff contributed a kill, and the duo of Morris and Winterhoff went up for a block. The Monarchs managed to catch up to the Mountaineers and take a 14-10 lead, but App State steadily chipped away at the deficit to tie things up at 16 all. The Black and Gold built off kills from senior
Keionna Mackey and Hutchens, an ace from Heidemann, and a pair of ODU errors. After ODU took a late 21-20 edge, kills from Winterhoff and Mackey pushed the Mountaineers ahead, 23-21. Heidemann set Hutchens up for a pair of kills to secure the set, 25-23, for App State.
Much like the first set, App State and Old Dominion knotted the score eight times, but traded the lead on five occasions in the second set. Down 5-2, Winterhoff went to work, slamming down a trio of kills and going up for a block alongside Morris to push the Mountaineers ahead, 6-5. With a 5-1 run that featured kills from sophomore
Lou Johnson, Hutchens, redshirt freshman
Maddie Smith, and Heidemann, App State took an 18-16 lead. The Mountaineers maintained their lead with a pair of kills from Winterhoff and an ace from Morris (21-18). Hutchens capped the set with three more kills for the Mountaineers, 25-21, despite ODU's late efforts to narrow the deficit.
In the third and final set, App State jumped to an early 5-2 lead, building off a pair of ODU errors, a pair of kills from Hutchens, and a kill from Morris. ODU managed to close the gap, meeting the Mountaineers at 7-7. Over the course of the set, the Mountaineers and Monarchs fought through 12 ties. With a 4-0 run that included kills from Morris and Winterhoff, Winterhoff's solo block, and an ace from freshman
Bella Dafforn, App State pushed ahead, 15-12. The Monarchs chipped away at the deficit and managed to take a 21-17 lead with a 6-1 run. The Mountaineers answered with a 5-0 run of their own, building off a block from the duo junior
Maria Contreras and Johnson, a pair of Mackey kills, a kill from Hutchens, and an ODU error (22-21). Heidemann set Hutchens up for a kill to break a 22 all tie. App State won the set, 25-23, and the match, 3-0, after a pair of Old Dominion errors.
Looking Ahead
The Mountaineers will hit the road for their next four matches. App State will challenge Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Ga. on Oct. 16 and 17 before taking on Coastal Carolina on Oct. 24 and 25 in Conway, S.C.
