JONESBORO, Ark. - Appalachian State had one goal this season and that was to get to Jonesboro for the 2017 Sun Belt Volleyball Championships. The Mountaineers did just that, and more, as the seventh-seeded Mountaineers knocked off No. 6 UTA, 3-2, to open the tournament.

The Mountaineers atoned for a loss to UTA earlier this season and will move on to face No. 3 Louisiana in Friday's quarterfinals at 5 p.m. (CT). The Ragin’ Cajuns swept the Mountaineers during the regular season.

The five-set match marked the first time since 2013 a Sun Belt opening tournament match went five sets.

It was a back and forth battle from the start as the match saw a total of nine lead changes and 23 ties. The fifth and final set was controlled by the Mountaineers, which raced out to a quick 6-0 lead before the Mavericks battled back within two at 7-5. From there the teams traded points before the Mountaineers would close out the set and the match at 15-11.

Kara Spicer led the Mountaineers with 15 kills and only three errors on 28 attempts. She led all players with at least 20 attempts at .429. Qiana Canete paved the way for the Mavericks and led all players with 19 kills. UTA finished with 60 kills to App State's 59 and outhit the Mountaineers .209 to .191. App's Ashlyn Brown had 51 assists and 12 digs in the win.

With the win the Mountaineers improved to 12-19 on the season while the loss drops the Mavericks to 13-17.