LAFAYETTE, La. – The App State volleyball team (11-4, 2-2 SBC) delivered Louisiana's first loss in the Earl K. Long Gym this season with a 3-1 (25-23, 26-24, 20-25, 25-22) victory on Saturday. The Mountaineers split the weekend with the Ragin' Cajuns (10-4, 2-2 SBC) after falling short in four sets on Friday.
App State 3, Louisiana 1
Senior
Ali Morris led the Mountaineers with a team-high 14 kills and 14 digs, registering her fifth double-double of the 2025 campaign (34th in her career). She also recorded a hitting percentage of .429 on the afternoon. Sophomore
Bella Hutchens made her mark, slamming down 12 kills for the Black and Gold and going up for four blocks alongside senior
Maya Winterhoff. Winterhoff, who made nine kills on Saturday is now a mere 13 away from reaching a career milestone of 1,000 kills. Sophomore
MeMe Davis served up five of App State's 10 aces while registering 12 digs. Redshirt senior
Addison Heidemann made 32 of App State's 44 assists, helping the Mountaineers to a team hitting percentage of .238. The Mountaineers out-served Louisiana 10 aces to six.
Down 16-14 in the first set, the Mountaineers found their stride with a late 8-0 run that featured kills from redshirt sophomore
Delanie Grevengoed, Morris, and Winterhoff. The run also featured four of Davis' five aces, propelling App State to a 22-16 lead. The Ragin' Cajuns narrowed the deficit to 23-22, but a kill from Winterhoff and a Ragin' Cajun error capped the set in App State's favor, 25-23.
The Mountaineers and Ragin' Cajuns battled through a tight second set, knotting the score on 19 occasions and trading the lead six times. Late in play, Winterhoff made a quick kill to tie things up at 22-all, which was followed by a pair of Louisiana errors that brought the Black and Gold to set point. The Ragin' Cajuns managed to meet the Mountaineers at 24 all before Hutchens went off with back-to-back kills to close the set, 26-24, for App State.
Louisiana commanded the third set, leading by as much as nine points. The Mountaineers managed to narrow the deficit to three (23-20) with a pair of kills from junior
Maria Contreras, a block from the duo of sophomore
Lou Johnson and Hutchens, and a kill from Hutchens. The Ragin' Cajuns captured the set, 25-20.
In the fourth and final set, App State and Louisiana fought through 16 ties and traded the lead five times. Over the course of play, the Mountaineers maintained a hitting percentage of .433. Building off a Louisiana error, kills from Morris and Johnson, and an ace from redshirt freshman
Maddie Smith, the Black and Gold jumped ahead, 17-14. Another pair of kills from Johnson and Morris, as well as a kill from senior
Keionna Mackey, kept the Mountaineers ahead, 20-18. Contreras set Johnson up for a kill, which Hutchens followed up with a pair of her own kills to clinch the set, 25-22, and the match, 3-1, for App State.
Looking Ahead
App State will host Old Dominion on Oct. 10 and 11. Friday's match will be Ali's Game, where the Mountaineers will celebrate their honorary captain,
Ali Waldon. Fans are encouraged to wear yellow. Saturday's match is Pink Day. There will be a pink wristband giveaway and fans are encouraged to wear pink.
