BOONE, N.C. — App State Volleyball returns home to the Holmes Convocation Center to kick off Homecoming weekend in a series against Georgia Southern on Thursday and Friday.
Fans can present their Homecoming football ticket for Saturday's game versus Old Dominion at the South West Entrance Ticket Window to receive $5 admission to this weekend's matches.
LAST TIME OUT
App State Volleyball completed a dominant weekend sweep of Sun Belt Conference rival Coastal Carolina at the Holmes Convocation Center, extending its conference winning streak and improving to 11-7 overall (4-0 SBC).
The Mountaineers kicked off their league home opener on Friday with a 3-0 sweep behind a pristine defensive performance that yielded zero aces while landing six of their own. Amelia Mancino anchored Friday's attack with a career-high 13 kills, supported by Nevaeh Hays' eight kills on a .500 hitting percentage and Raegan Richardson's 34 assists. Libero MeMe Davis collected 14 digs, while Chelsea Gilmore recorded a team-high three blocks at the net.
The Mountaineers returned to the court on Saturday to seal the series sweep dramatically, surviving a five-set thriller against the Chanticleers with a 3-2 victory.
After dropping the opening frame, App State rallied to take the second and third sets before Coastal Carolina forced a deciding fifth set. In the high-stakes final frame, App State held off a desperate Chanticleer squad 16-14 to secure the win and drop Coastal Carolina to 4-9 (0-4 SBC).
Delanie Grevengoed keyed Saturday's offense with a team-high 18 kills, two aces and three blocks, complemented by double-double performances from Mancino (12 kills, 12 digs) and Gilmore (11 kills, three blocks). Richardson directed the offense with 49 assists, 20 digs and two aces, while Davis anchored the back row with a game-high and season-best 31 digs to wrap up an impressive weekend for the Mountaineers.
SERIES HISTORY VS. GEORGIA SOUTHERN
App State and Georgia Southern (12-4, 4-0 SBC) have met 64 times, with the Eagles holding a 41-23 advantage in the all-time series.
The Mountaineers last defeated the Eagles in 2024 with a five-set match on Oct. 18. Georgia Southern responded with a series sweep in 2025.
SCOUTING APP STATE
App State is led by juniors Davis on defense, Richardson at setter and Bella Hutchens on offense.
Last season, Davis led the back row in digs (467) while Hutchens was one of the squad's primary offensive threats on the outside with 244 kills.
Richardson, a transfer from South Florida, has stepped seamlessly into the starting setter role, leading the offense in assists and surpassing 2,000 total career assists.
SCOUTING GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Georgia Southern is 4-0 in conference play, with four straight sweeps over Old Dominion and Coastal Carolina.
Third-year libero Maddie Cugino and fourth-year setter Lexi Duffy earned Sun Belt Player of the Week honors this week.
Cugino posted 6.50 digs per set, tallying 39 on the weekend against the Monarchs. She added a 90% dig rate, a 26.8% dig-to-point rate and 63% point scoring from the service line.
Duffy tallied 69 total assists (11.50 per set), six kills, 14 digs and two blocks on the weekend. Duffy led the league in assists per set last weekend, adding a 36% assist rate, 2.33 digs per set and one kill per set, while hitting .500.
Last fall, the Eagles went 19-9 overall and 10-6 in SBC play, qualified for the conference tournament and lost a three-set match to South Alabama in the quarterfinals.
ON THE HORIZON
The Mountaineers will travel to Harrisonburg, Va., to play James Madison on Oct. 15 and Oct. 16. Both matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+, with live stats available at appstatesports.com.
