CONWAY, S.C. – The App State volleyball team fell short in five sets (27-25, 11-25, 18-25, 25-22, 11-15) to Coastal Carolina in Conway on Saturday.
"This was a tough weekend on the road," said head coach
Chad Sutton. "We have to get back to work this week so we can return to winning volleyball."
Coastal Carolina 3, App State 2
Sophomore
Bella Hutchens and senior
Ali Morris combined for 40 of App State's 56 kills. Hutchens contributed 24 kills for a new career high, surpassing her previous best of 22, which was set on Oct. 16 at Georgia Southern. Additionally, Hutchens served up six of App State's eight aces. Redshirt senior
Addison Heidemann made 47 of App State's 51 assists, while Davis made 15 of the Mountaineers' 37 digs.
The Mountaineers (13-8, 4-6 SBC) built off a kill and ace from Hutchens as well as a quartet of Chanticleer errors to establish a 6-3 lead in the first set. As Coastal Carolina (16-6, 8-2 SBC) met the Mountaineers at 7-7, Hutchens slammed down back-to-back kills to give App State a 9-7 edge. With another pair of Hutchens kills and a kill from redshirt sophomore Delaine Grevengoed, the Mountaineers pushed ahead, 12-8. As Coastal Carolina narrowed the gap to 19-17, App State went on a 4-1 run with a kill and ace from Hutchens and a pair of kills from Morris. Grevengoed brought App State to set point with a kill (24-19). The Chants managed to meet the Mountaineers at 24 all with a 5-0 run. Morris pushed the Mountaineers ahead, 25-24, with a kill, but the Chants met the Mountaineers once more at 25 all. Hutchens made her ninth kill of the set to break the 25-all tie and the duo of Heidemann and sophomore
Lou Johnson went up for the block to secure the set, 27-25.
Building off an 11-1 run midway through the second set, Coastal Carolina managed to take the set, 25-11. The Chanticleers' momentum carried into the third set with an early 6-0 run. App State steadily chipped away at the deficit, narrowing it to three (17-14) with a trio of kills from Morris and a kill from senior
Maya Winterhoff. Despite App State's efforts, the Chants took the third set, 25-18.
App State came alive in the fourth set, establishing a 7-2 lead with a 7-1 run that featured a kill and a pair of aces from Hutchens, a kill from Morris, and a pair of kills from Johnson. Hutchens slammed down a trio of kills to keep the Mountaineers ahead, 11-7. With a 4-0 run, App State extended its lead to 18-13 with another Hutchens kill, an ace from Morris, and a block from the duo of Winterhoff and Hutchens. Kills from Hutchens and Morris as well as a Hutchens ace and a Chanticleer error brought App State to set point (24-21). Heidemann set Morris up for a kill to cap the set, 25-22, for the Mountaineers.
Hutchens opened the fifth and final set with a kill. With kills from Grevengoed and Winterhoff, as well as a block from the duo of Heidemann and Winterhoff, the Mountaineers took a 5-4 edge. Coastal Carolina jumped ahead, 10-6. Winterhoff and Hutchens worked to narrow the gap with a pair of kills. Despite a block from the duo of Johnson and Morris as well as a solo block from Grevengoed, CCU took the set, 15-11, and the match, 3-2.
Looking Ahead
The Mountaineers return to Boone for a pair of matches against Georgia State on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Following Friday's 6 p.m. match, the team will hand out candy for postgame trick-or-treating. Saturday's 2 p.m. match will feature Volleyball Bingo. Both matches will be available to stream on ESPN+.
