CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The App State volleyball team posted its first program victory over Virginia, 3-2 (25-14, 25-23, 23-25, 24-26, 16-14) on Saturday and rose to 6-0 on the season. Saturday's victory at the Cavalier Classic also marked the Mountaineers' first win over an ACC team since 2015, when the Black and Gold swept Clemson.
App State started strong, taking the first two sets before Virginia stormed back to take the third and fourth set. The Mountaineers' true grit showed in the fifth and final set as they fought off several Cavalier match points with a late 5-0 run to clinch the match.
"We had a tremendous weekend in Charlottesville with two five-set victories over very tough teams," said head coach
Chad Sutton. "This marks the second tournament championship in as many weeks. Our women competed hard and never gave up. No matter what the situation was, they continued to climb and push forward. I could not be more proud to coach these women and excited to be heading home as winners."
A trio of Mountaineers collected Cavalier Classic All-Tournament Team honors, led by senior
Maya Winterhoff, who earned her second MVP honor of the season. The Charlottesville, Va. native slammed down 30 kills (3.0 k/s) on a clip of .538 on the weekend and went up for 12 blocks (one solo, 11 assist). Joining Winterhoff on the all-tournament team as key contributors were junior
Maria Contreras and redshirt sophomore
Delanie Grevengoed. Contreras tallied 28 assists (2.8 a/s), 17 kills with a hitting percentage of .324, seven blocks, and five digs. Grevengoed made 15 kills for the Black and Gold and went up for five blocks.
App State 3, Virginia 2
Against Virginia, a quartet of Mountaineers made double-figure kills, led by Winterhoff who tallied 16 on a hitting percentage of .452. Fellow senior
Ali Morris made 15 kills and served up three of App State's six aces. Contreras, who matched with sophomore
Bella Hutchens with 10 kills apiece, registered her first double-double of the season with 16 assists. Redshirt senior
Addison Heidemann notched her 12th career double-double with a team-high 24 assists and 10 digs. Junior
Caroline Farthing made a team-high 11 digs, while sophomore
MeMe Davis and freshman
Bella Dafforn each made 10. App State outpaced Virginia in kills (62-53) and assists (56-51). The Mountaineers also held the Cavaliers to a hitting percentage of .147.
The Mountaineers were quick to erase a 6-2 deficit in the first set with a 5-0 run, which featured kills from Morris and Contreras. Building off a pair of Contreras kills, a Morris kill, and a block from the duo of Contreras and Winterhoff, App State took an 11-7 lead. With a late 7-1 surge that included kills from Hutchens, Morris, and Winterhoff, as well as a pair of Morris aces, the Black and Gold secured the first set, 25-14. Over the duration of the first set, the Mountaineers recorded a team hitting percentage of .367.
App State's momentum carried into the second set as the Black and Gold jumped to a 4-1 lead with kills from junior
Akila Hardie, Morris, and an ace from Davis. Building off a pair of Winterhoff kills, a Morris ace, and a block from the duo of Contreras and Winterhoff, the Mountaineers extended the lead to 10-5. The Cavaliers managed to catch up to the Mountaineers and take a 20-18 edge. With a trio of kills from Morris, Winterhoff, and Heidemann, App State edged ahead, 23-22. A kill from Winterhoff and Cavalier error sealed the set for the Mountaineers, 25-23.
In the third set, the Mountaineers and Cavaliers tied on nine occasions and swapped the lead five times. Late in the set, App State broke a 17-17 tie with a Morris kill and Dafforn ace. Virginia managed to reach set point with a 3-0 run, and despite a kill from Grevengoed, the Cavaliers flipped the script and took the set, 25-23.
The Mountaineers took an early 5-1 lead in the fourth set as Heidemann set Hardie and Winterhoff up for kills. The Cavaliers answered with an 8-1 run for the only lead change in the set. App State managed to catch Virginia at 23 all after a block from the duo of Hardie and Grevengoed and a kill from Morris, but Virginia managed to take the set, 26-24.
Much like the fourth set, App State started the fifth with a 5-1 run as Grevengoed, Winterhoff, and Morris slammed down kills. A trio of kills from Hutchens knotted the score on three occasions as the Cavaliers tried to establish a lead. Virginia managed to pull ahead with a 4-1 run to reach set and match point (14-11). The Mountaineers answered with a 5-0 run that featured a pair of Contreras kills and a block from the duo of Contreras and Winterhoff, to snatch the set 16-14 and the win, 3-2, from the Cavaliers. During the fifth set, App State maintained a team hitting percentage of .375.
Looking Ahead
The Mountaineers will head to Kennesaw, Ga. for the Kennesaw State Invitational on Sept. 12 and 13. App State will take on Michigan State at 2 p.m. on Friday. Saturday's match against Kennesaw State is set for noon and will be available to stream on ESPN+.
Cavalier Classic All-Tournament Team
Maya Winterhoff, App State (MVP)
Delanie Grevengoed, App State
Maria Contreras, App State
Becca Wight, Virginia
Jasmine Robinson, Virginia
Julia Rienks, VCU
