BOONE, N.C. - The App State volleyball team (14-11, 4-8 SBC) will close the regular season with a pair of cross-division matches against Troy in the Holmes Convocation Center on Friday and Saturday.
Friday's 6 p.m. match will honor the Mountaineers' graduating seniors:
Addison Heidemann,
Keionna Mackey,
Ali Morris, and
Maya Winterhoff. Friday will also be Faculty & Staff Night, where there will be free admission for all App State faculty and staff. The Mountaineers will cap the regular season on Saturday with a 2 p.m. match against the Trojans. The Mountaineers' milestones from the season will be recognized and an autograph session with the team will follow the match.
Last Time Out
App State split the penultimate weekend of regular season play in Huntington, WVa. last week. The Mountaineers swept Marshall, 3-0, on Thursday. Morris led the team with 14 kills, while Winterhoff slammed down 10 kills on a clip of .668. Sophomore
Bella Hutchens matched Winterhoff with 10 kills of her own, while Davis led the team with 20 digs. Heidemann helped the team to a .288 hitting percentage and accounted for 36 of App State's 41 assists. Mackey served up four of App State's nine aces.
On Friday, App State fell short to the Herd in four sets. Morris made a team high 16 kills to break 1,000 career kills. Mackey made 12 kills and six blocks for the Black and Gold, while Winterhoff led the team with seven blocks and made 11 kills of her own. With 34 assists and 16 digs, Heidemann registered her seventh double-double of the season. Davis led the team with 18 digs, followed by freshman
Bella Dafforn, who made 11. Davis and Mackey combined for five of App State's six aces.
Mountaineer Leaders
Winterhoff maintains her status as the Sun Belt's leader in hitting percentage and ranks 33rd nationally with a mark of .392. Winterhoff also rounds out the league's top five and the nation's top 25 in total blocks with 122 (21 solo, 101 assists). The Charlottesville, Va. native has slammed down a team high 290 kills (2.76 k/s) during the 2025 campaign and is followed closely by Morris, who has made 287 kills (2.73 k/s). Morris matches Mackey for a team high 26 aces this year.
Heidemann leads the team and stands second in the Sun Belt in assists with 860 on the year. She also ranks third in the league for assists per set, averaging 8.19. Davis ranks third in the conference and 51st nationally in digs, totaling 428 this fall and averaging 4.08 digs per set.
App State leads the league in aces (155) in addition to second in the league and among the nation's top 45 in kills (1,348) and assists (1,229).
Series History vs. Troy
In the all-time series with the Trojans, App State trails by one match (11-10). The Mountaineers last met the Trojans a year ago to the day, splitting the weekend in Troy, Ala.
On Nov. 14, 2024, App State came out victorious from a five-set thriller. Five Mountaineers made double-figure kills, led by
Elise Marchal, who made 15. Winterhoff led the team in blocks, going up for nine, and made 13 kills of her own. Heidemann helped the team to a hitting percentage of .299 and registered a double-double with a team high 48 assists and a team high 18 digs.
The Mountaineers fell short in four sets on Nov. 15, 2024.
Lulu Ambrose's 1,000th career kill highlighted the Black and Gold's regular season finale. Ambrose led the Mountaineers with 13 kills and was followed by Winterhoff who made 11 kills on a mark of .500. With 42 assists and 15 digs, Heidemann made her 10th double-double of the 2024 campaign and went up for a team high four blocks.
Kenady Roper led the Mountaineers with 19 digs.
Scouting Troy
Troy (8-14, 6-8 SBC) enters the weekend's contests fresh off a pair of five-set victories over Southern Miss (Nov. 7 and 8) The Trojans split wins with ULM, Arkansas State, Louisiana, and Texas State. Troy dropped contests to South Alabama (Sept. 26 and 27) as well as Georgia Southern (Oct. 10 and 11). During non-conference action, the Trojans tallied a trio of 3-0 sweeps against Jackson State (Sept. 6) and Mercer (Sept. 10).
Amiah Butler is the Trojans' top attacker with 388 kills (4.56 k/s) and leads the team in digs with 192 (2.26 d/s). Butler ranks second in the league and 16th nationally in kills per set. She also stands second in the SBC and 31st in the NCAA in total kills. Madison Marx leads the team in assists with 454 (5.34 a/s), followed by Jordan Sinness, who has 406 assists (4.78 a/s) this fall. With 51 blocks (seven solo, 44 assists), Sydney Austin is Troy's top blocker. Austin also matches Sara Bates with a team high 27 digs. Bates ranks third in the Sun Belt in aces per set (0.40). Troy leads the Sun Belt and ranks 40th nationally in aces per set (1.76). The Trojans also stand second in the SBC in aces (135) and fourth in assists per set (12.14).
