Volleyball Set for Pair of Road Matches at Georgia Southern

BOONE, N.C. - The App State volleyball team (13-4, 4-2 SBC) will travel to Statesboro, Ga. to challenge Georgia Southern (14-3, 5-1 SBC) on Thursday and Friday. First serve for both matches is 6 p.m. and both will be available to stream on ESPN+.
 
Last Time Out 
App State posted a weekend sweep of Old Dominion at the Holmes Center on Oct. 10 and 11. Over the course of the weekend, sophomore Bella Hutchens tallied 35 kills on a mark of .517, averaging 5.0 kills per set. 
 
On Friday, the Mountaineers' five-set victory over the Monarchs was highlighted by senior Maya Winterhoff's 1,000th career kill. She is the second Mountaineer this fall to surpass a career milestone, following redshirt senior Addison Heidemann, who eclipsed 1,000 career assists on Aug. 30. Hutchens, who led the team in kills on Friday, matched her previous career high of 15 on a clip of .379. She was followed by seniors Keionna Mackey and Winterhoff, who made 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Heidemann made a team high 38 assists, while sophomore MeMe Davis led the team in digs with 19 on the night. 
 
In the Black and Gold's 3-0 sweep of Old Dominion on Saturday, Hutchens had a career performance, slamming down 20 kills on a clip of .645. She combined with Winterhoff for 30 of App State's 49 kills. Marking her fifth double-double of the season, Heidemann made 33 assists and 11 digs. Additionally, she guided the team to a hitting percentage of .303. Davis made a team high 17 digs for the Mountaineers. 
 
Mountaineer Leaders 
Winterhoff stands 14th nationally and second in the Sun Belt in blocks, tallying 90 (15 solo, 75 assists) so far this season. She remains second in the Sun Belt and 26th nationally with a hitting percentage of .411. In the kills category, Winterhoff is App State's top attacker with 199 kills this fall, averaging 2.76 kills per set. Additionally, Winterhoff is the Mountaineers' top server with 20 aces. Heidemann leads App State with 570 assists this fall (7.92 a/s). In the Sun Belt standings, Heidemann is third in assists and fourth in assists per set. In the digs category, Davis continues to lead the Black and Gold and ranks fourth in the conference with 273 digs (3.79 d/s).
 
Senior Ali Morris looks to become the third Mountaineer to reach a career milestone this fall, as she is a mere 25 digs away from reaching 1,000 career digs. So far this season, Morris has made 152 digs (2.11 d/s) and 178 kills (2.47 k/s), standing second on the team in both categories. 
 
In the team rankings, App State ranks 34th nationally in blocks with 166.5. The Mountaineers also stand second in the league and among the NCAA's top 75 in kills (898), assists (813), and aces (112). 
 
Series History vs. Georgia Southern
App State leads the series against Georgia Southern, 41-21. The Mountaineers split its matches with the Eagles last season. On Oct. 18, the Mountaineers handed the Eagles their first conference loss of the 2024 campaign with a 3-2 victory in the High Country. Lulu Ambrose led the Mountaineers with a career and team high 21 kills. With 49 assists and 11 digs, Heidemann registered her fifth double-double of the season. Returning to the court on Oct. 19, App State fell short to Georgia Southern in four sets. Winterhoff led the team with 13 kills and four blocks, including the Mountaineers' sole solo block of the match. Heidemann made 38 assists, while Kenady Roper led the team with 18 digs. 
 
Scouting Georgia Southern
Georgia Southern is 14-3 on the season, 5-1 in conference play, and enters the week's contests fresh off a pair of 3-1 road wins over Troy (Oct. 10 and 11). After opening Sun Belt play with a pair of sweeps of Old Dominion (Sept. 25 and 26), the Eagles split its weekend with Marshall (Oct. 3 and 4), which included their ninth sweep of the year. Georgia Southern opened the 2025 campaign with seven consecutive victories before Georgia snapped the Eagles' win-streak on Sept. 13. The Eagles closed nonconference play with a loss in three sets against Florida State (Sept. 20). 
 
Standing sixth nationally and second in the Sun Belt in digs per set (5.21) is sophomore Maddie Cugino. For the season, Cugino has tallied 302 digs. Leading the team in the assists and aces categories is senior Kirsten Barrett, who has dished out 600 assists and served up 26 aces so far this fall. Barrett ranks 13th nationally and leads the Sun Belt in assists per set (10.53). Four Eagles have hit triple-digit kills this fall, led by junior Reagan Barth, who has 249 (4.22 k/s). Barth ranks second in the league and 36th nationally in points per set (4.79). She also ranks third in the SBC and 38th nationally in kills per set. The Eagles' top blocker is junior Lydia Seymour, who has tallied 60 blocks (16 solo, 44 assists) this year. Georgia Southern ranks 12th nationally and second in the Sun Belt in digs per set (17.10). The Eagles also stand second in the league and among the NCAA's top 60 in kills per set and digs. 
 
On the Horizon
The Mountaineers remain on the road for a pair of matches against Coastal Carolina in Conway, S.C. on Oct. 24 and 25. Friday's match is set for 6 p.m. and Saturday's match is set for 2 p.m. Both matches will be available to stream on ESPN+.