BOONE, N.C. – After coming back from down 2-0 to send the match to a decisive fifth set, the App State volleyball team couldn't overcome an early fifth-set rally from the Georgia State Panthers, falling 3-2 (29-31, 23-25, 25-19, 25-15, 13-15) on Friday. The Mountaineers (13-9, 4-7 Sun Belt) worked back from a 12-7 hole in the fifth set to make it a one-point game at 13-12, but Georgia State (13-9, 4-7 Sun Belt) scored two of the final three points to claim the win.
Georgia State 3, App State 2
The Mountaineers were led offensively by seniors
Maya Winterhoff and
Ali Morris and sophomore
Bella Hutchens, as the trio racked up 50 kills. Sophomore
Lou Johnson fell one short of her App State and career high in kills with 12 on a .318 hitting percentage. App State was active at the net on Friday, posting five blocks, all coming from different players. Redshirt senior
Addison Heidemann recorded 64 of App State's 72 assists, while sophomore
MeMe Davis led the team with 22 digs.
Back on their home floor for the first time in 20 days, the Mountaineers jumped out to a hot start, scoring the game's first six points. Hutchens, Morris and senior
Keionna Mackey each recorded kills during this run. The Panthers quickly cut into the deficit with a 4-0 run of their own, but the Mountaineers answered with a 4-0 scoring run to go ahead by six, 11-5. Both teams battled over the next several points, but it was App State that held a two-point lead at the halfway point of the opening set. The Mountaineers used a trio of kills by Winterhoff and a Mackey kill to jump ahead 21-18 late in the set, but the Panthers rallied to tie the score at 21 all before taking their first lead of the match at 23-22 off a Mountaineer error. App State tied the score at 23, and the teams traded points until a kill by Georgia State's Myllena Torquetti knotted the first set at 25. Johnson slammed down a kill to put the Mountaineers ahead 26-25 before Georgia State took the lead again thanks to a block. The Mountaineers regained the lead after a kill by Hutchens and a Panther error, but Georgia State scored the set's final three points to take the first set in a back-and-forth start.
Georgia State used the momentum from a first-set win to take a quick 5-2 lead in the second set. Needing a run, the Mountaineers found one and tied the score at five, using two kills by Winterhoff and an error to do so. Neither team could gain control of set two as the match saw five ties over the next several points. Morris slammed home a kill to put the Mountaineers on top for the first time in the set, and then two straight errors by the Panthers gave App State a four-point advantage. Mackey racked up another kill to make it 17-13, before Hutchens' kill preceded a Panther error to give App State a 20-16 lead. Seeing their largest deficit of the set, Georgia State tallied five of the next six points to tie the score at 21. Morris recorded a kill to make it 22-21, but the Panthers kept up their strong play, scoring four of the next six points to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
App State dominated much of the third set, jumping out to an early lead and never looking back. Redshirt sophomore
Delanie Grevengoed notched set three's first point, and Morris recorded another kill to put the Mountaineers ahead 2-0 early. After Georgia State tied the set at three, App State used a trio of errors to go up three, 6-3. Then, Morris and Wintrhoff teamed up with Hutchens for kills to give App State a 10-6 advantage. Georgia State eventually tied the score at 13, but Morris and junior
Maria Contreras helped cap off a 3-0 run with a block at the net, giving the Mountaineers a 16-13 edge in set three. A pair of kills from Hutchens and one from Johnson pushed the Mountaineers to a 20-16 lead before Johnson notched two straight kills to put the Mountaineers within three of set point. An ace by Davis and a kill by Grevengoed clinched the set, keeping App State alive into the fourth set.
Despite the Panthers scoring the first point of set four, App State used a Johnson kill, an error and a Davis ace to take an early 3-1 lead. Georgia State tied the score at four, but the Mountaineers weren't fazed and scored five of the next seven points, propelled by Hutchens, Winterhoff and Morris, to go up 9-6 before the Panthers quelled the run. App State continued to pour it on, tallying three straight points to quickly go up 12-7. The Panthers came within three after a kill and an error, but the Mountaineers saw kills by Grevengoed and Morris that capped off a 5-0 run, pushing them ahead 18-10. App State quickly finished off the set by recording seven of the set's final 10 points to force a winner-take-all set five. Winterhoff, Morris, Heidemann and Hutchens helped App State come back to tie the match with kills.
Playing in their second consecutive five-set match, the Mountaineers struggled to stop an early Georgia State run in the fifth set, seeing the Panthers jump ahead 5-1 to start the final set. App State used a 4-0 run of its own to tie the score at five, but Georgia State tallied five straight of its own to go back ahead 10-5. App State worked to trim the deficit, seeing kills by Johnson, Grevengoed, Winterhoff and Contreras to cut it back to a one-point game. With the score at 13-12, Georgia State scored off an error, putting them at match point. Winterhoff took a pass from Heidemann to make it 14-13, but a block by the Panthers clinched the set and the match.
Looking Ahead
The Mountaineers and Panthers will finish off the weekend on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Holmes Center. Fans will be able to play Volleyball Bingo throughout the match. Saturday's match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
