Thursday, November 20, 2014
Appalachian State Wins Last Home Match in Three Sets
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University volleyball won a three-set match against Texas State on Thursday, featuring scores of 25-21, 25-23 and 32-30.
The Mountaineers (20-9, 10-9 Sun Belt) beat the fourth-place Bobcats (19-12, 14-5) in three close sets, taking the third set into extended time with a score of 32-30.
With the scored tied at four to begin the first set the Mountaineers pulled ahead with kills from Jess Keller and Jacqui Spurgeon. The Bobcats responded by going on a 4-3 run to lead by just one point with a score of 9-8.
From there the Apps would recover, going on a 8-2 run to lead 17-10 and continued to score, taking a 21-12 lead. It looked as though the Mountaineers would easily take the first set but then Texas State took control, scoring seven of the next nine points to trail by just four points.
Appalachian was able to close it out with a kill from Emily Corrigan to win the first, 25-21.
The second set would be even closer as each team struggled to maintain the lead. With score tied at seven, the Bobcats went on a 5-1 run, forcing an Appalachian timeout.
App State would return and score to trail by just one points with the score 16-15, but Texas State would go on another run, scoring four-straight points to make the score 20-15.
The Apps then began to dominate, scoring seven-straight points to take a 21-20 lead and finishing out the set with a block assist from Keller and Hailey Kerr to win the second set, 25-23.
The third set began with Appalachian taking a 4-0 lead and Texas State immediately responding with four-straight points of their own. From there the set would be a battle as the teams would tie the score 19 different times during the third.
With the score tied at 14 Texas State scored four-straight for an 18-14 lead but Appalachian held their own, soon only trailing by two points with the score 20-18.
The Mountaineers would score three of the next four points to tie the score at 21, but then the Bobcats recorded three-straight points to lead, 24-21. Appalachian did not give up, forcing errors to make the score 24-24.
The rest of the set would feature six more tied scores before the Mountaineers would finally win the third, off a service ace from Corrigan, making the final score 32-30 and winning the match 3-0.
Corrigan led the team with 14 kills, while Keller followed with 13. Paige Brown tallied a match-high of 39 assists and Meghan Mahoney led the team with 22 digs.
Texas State was led by Alexandra Simm's 11 kills.
The Mountaineers hit .163 on the match, holding the Bobcats to a .146 hitting percentage.
The Apps return to action for their last regular-season match on Saturday against Georgia State in Atlanta, Ga.
Bobcats Upended by Appalachian State
BOONE, N.C. – Despite a strong third set to try to stay alive, Texas State fell to Appalachian State on the road in three sets, 25-21, 25-23, 32-30. The match was hotly contested throughout the second and third sets, but the Bobcats weren’t able to come out on top at the end, dropping to 19-12 overall and 14-5 in Sun Belt Conference play.
Alexandra Simms paced the Bobcats offensively with one of her most efficient matches of the season. She finished with a team-high 11 kills and just two errors on 24 attempts for a .375 hitting percentage. Jordan Kohl added nine kills in support.
All three Texas State setters saw action Thursday night, but it was Caylin Mahoney who led the team in assists with 17. Jordan Moore added 12 while Ali Gonzales finished with four. Sierra Smith led the team in digs with 14 while Shelby Vas Matt and Mahoney combined for 22 digs.
The Texas State blocking came alive in the third set as the Bobcats tallied six blocks in the final frame to finish the match with nine. Lauren Kirch and Kohl led the Bobcats defensively at the net with five block assists each while Amanda Watkins and Kelsey Weynand were in on two each. Both Simms and Brooke Smith put down a solo block.
The Bobcats couldn’t get much going in the opening set. Texas State finished the opening frame with 12 kills but seven errors to hit .125. Appalachian State put down 14 kills with five errors for a .196 hitting percentage, led by Jess Keller with five first-set kills. Simms and Kohl led the Bobcats with three kills apiece.
Texas State came out with more enthusiasm in the second set and it paid off. The Bobcats put down their first block of the match when Kohl and Watkins put one down for a 3-2 Texas State lead. The Bobcats continued to pour it on behind the offense of Kohl to build a four-point lead early in the set, 12-8.
Appalachian State began to close the gap, however, and pulled within one point, 14-13. From there, the Bobcats used kills from Brooke Smith and Simms to push the lead back up to five points, 20-15. The Mountaineers called a timeout at that point and came out to score six consecutive points after the timeout for a 21-20 Appalachian State lead. The Bobcats wouldn’t lead the second set again as the Mountaineers closed out the frame, 25-23.
In the third set, Texas State refused to go down easily, fighting at the end of the match to push the final score to 32-30. Both teams continued to go at each other until Appalachian State finally scored the last point. Simms finished with five kills in the final frame
Texas State will continue the team’s road trip with a match at Georgia Southern at 12 p.m. Central Standard Time. After that, the Bobcats will return home and begin preparation for the Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament to begin Thursday in San Marcos.