BOONE, N.C. – The App State volleyball team (10-2, 1-0 SBC) opened Sun Belt play on Friday with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-23) victory over James Madison (7-6, 0-1 SBC). Friday's victory marked the program's third consecutive win over JMU.
App State 3, James Madison 1
Senior
Keionna Mackey led the Mountaineers with 15 kills, followed by fellow senior
Maya Winterhoff, who tallied 14. Mackey and Winterhoff were also responsible for the Mountaineers' two solo blocks. Sophomore
Bella Hutchens also played a key role in Friday's match, slamming down 10 kills. Redshirt senior
Addison Heidemann made 43 of App State's 48 assists, while sophomore
MeMe Davis led the team with 11 digs. App State served up nine aces compared to JMU's two.
James Madison commanded the first set after jumping ahead 6-0 early. The Mountaineers narrowed the deficit to 17-13 with a 5-0 run. With blocks from the duos of Mackey and sophomore
Lou Johnson, and Hutchens and Johnson, as well as a Mackey kill, App Stat cut the deficit to three (21-18). Winterhoff managed to hold JMU at set point, but it wasn't enough as the Dukes took the first set, 25-21.
Johnson was quick to open the second set with a kill for the Mountaineers. Throughout the set, App State and James Madison knotted the score on 13 occasions, but only traded the lead four times. The Mountaineers broke a 16-all tie with a run that included a Mackey ace and kills from Hutchens and senior
Ali Morris. JMU answered with a 5-0 to take a 21-20 edge, but the Mountaineers regained the lead with a JMU error and back-to-back kills from Morris. Heidemann set Winterhoff up for a kill to cap the set, 25-23, for the Mountaineers.
Early in the third set, App State and JMU fought through several ties. With a 4-0 run that included a pair of Mackey kills, the Mountaineers took an 11-8 lead. The Black and Gold leapt ahead, 16-10, with a 5-0 run as Mackey, Morris, and Hutchens made kills, Heidemann served up an ace, and the duo of Johnson and Hutchens went up for a block. Kills from Hutchens, Winterhoff, and Morris kept App State ahead, 21-14. JMU found momentum with a 4-0 run to narrow the deficit to 21-18. The Mountaineers secured the second set, 25-19, with a Winterhoff kill, JMU error, and Winterhoff ace. Over the course of the third set, App State held JMU to a hitting percentage of .075 while maintaining a hitting percentage of .226.
The Mountaineers' momentum carried into the fourth set as Mackey went to work slamming down a kill and serving up an ace. Davis made one of her two kills to help App State to an early 3-0 lead. In the final set, App State and JMU tied on six occasions, but only swapped the lead twice. With a 5-0 run that featured kills from Morris and Winterhoff, as well as Mackey's solo block, the Mountaineers established a 10-6 lead. The Dukes managed to meet the Mountaineers at 19-all, but a JMU error and consecutive aces from Winterhoff pushed App State ahead, 22-19. JMU managed to knot the score once more at 22-all before App State reached match point with back-to-back kills from Mackey and Hutchens. Davis made the Mountaineers' final kill as App State took the set, 25-23, and the match, 3-1.
Looking Ahead
The Mountaineers and Dukes return to the court at 2 p.m. on Saturday for Youth Day. All kids aged 12 and under will receive free admission.
