BOONE, N.C. – The App State volleyball team (10-3, 1-1 SBC) fell short in four sets (21-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-20) to James Madison (8-6, 1-1 SBC) on Saturday.
"We had two really hard-fought matches this weekend against a great opponent," said head coach
Chad Sutton. "We made enough plays to win the first match and didn't make enough plays to win the second. We will regroup, learn from our mistakes and continue to climb."
James Madison 3, App State 1
Senior
Maya Winterhoff slammed down a team-high 14 kills and went up for seven blocks, which included App State's sole solo block of the match. Fellow senior
Ali Morris and redshirt senior
Addison Heidemann each registered their fourth double-doubles of the season. Morris made 13 kills and a team-high 14 digs, while Heidemann made 45 of App State's 51 assists in addition to 10 digs. Sophomore
Lou Johnson matched Morris with 13 kills and recorded a hitting percentage of .423.
App State and James Madison fought through a tight first set. With a 7-1 run, App State took a 10-7 edge, building off three consecutive kills from Morris, a block from the duo of Heidemann and Winterhoff, a fourth Morris kill, and back-to-back kills from senior
Keionna Mackey. Breaking a 10-10 tie with a kill and ace from Winterhoff, a block from the duo of Heidemann and Johnson, and a kill from Johnson, App State leapt ahead, 14-10. JMU found momentum and broke a 20-all tie with a 4-0 run to reach set point. JMU took the set, 25-21.
In the second set, the Mountaineers and Dukes knotted the score on 14 occasions and swapped the lead six times. App State managed to push ahead, 16-14, with a pair of Winterhoff kills and a block from the duo of Mackey and Johnson. With a kill, Morris tied things up at 19 all. The Black and Gold gained a 22-21 edge with kills from Winterhoff and Morris, as well as a block from the duo of Winterhoff and Heidemann, but the Dukes took the set, 25-22, with a late 4-0 run.
The Mountaineers flipped the script by taking the third set, 25-22. Down 4-2 early, the Mountaineers went on a 7-1 run, which included a block from sophomore
Bella Hutchens and Winterhoff, a kill and solo block from Winterhoff, and a Morris ace. It would be the only time in the third set the Mountaineers and Dukes exchanged the lead. App State maintained its lead as Johnson, Winterhoff, and Morris contributed kills. A trio of Mackey kills kept the Mountaineers ahead, 22-17. JMU managed to narrow the deficit to 24-22, but Heidemann set Morris up for a kill to secure set point. Over the course of the set, App State held JMU to a hitting percentage of .083.
Throughout the fourth set, App State and James Madison tied on 10 occasions and traded the lead five times. The Mountaineers managed to push ahead, 17-16, after a kill from Mackey and back-to-back kills from Johnson. JMU answered with a 4-0 run to take a 20-17 lead. Heidemann set Johnson up for a kill to bring the Mountaineers within two (21-19), but JMU reached set and match point with a 3-0 run. Despite a last JMU error, the Dukes took the set 25-20, and the match, 3-1.
Looking Ahead
The Mountaineers will travel to Lafayette, La. to challenge Louisiana on Oct. 3 and 4. Friday's 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) match will be available to stream on ESPN+. Saturday's match is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT) and will not be available to stream.
