The App State volleyball team swept Winthrop in three sets (25-20, 25-18, 25-23) in the Black & Gold Invitational’s Friday nightcap.
Senior Lulu Ambrose, junior Maya Winterhoff, and freshman Elise Marchal slammed nine kills apiece. Winterhoff posted a hitting percentage of .529 and Marchal posted a hitting percentage of .474. Additionally, Marchal led the team in the digs category with 14 on the night. Ambrose and sophomore Ava Leahy went up for seven blocks apiece. Freshman Julianna Horta registered her first career double-double with a team-high 33 assists and 10 digs. App State outpaced Winthrop in the blocks category with 12 compared to the Eagles’ five. The Mountaineers also led the Eagles in kills (40-39), assists (35-33).
The Mountaineers and Eagles stayed close early in the first set until the Mountaineers broke a 6-6 tie and took a 9-6 lead after a pair of kills from Ambrose and a kill from Leahy. The Black and Gold extended its lead to 17-10 with a 6-0 run that included kills from Winterhoff, freshman Maddie Smith, and Marchal. Horta made a solo block to put the Mountaineers up 19-11. As the Mountaineers neared set point, Winthrop built off a four-point scoring run to close the gap. Horta set up Marchal for back-to-back kills to seal the set, 25-20, for the Mountaineers.
Smith opened the second set with a kill before Winthrop found momentum with a 4-0 run. App State answered with a five-point scoring run that included a kill and ace from Marchal and a block from the duo of Winterhoff and Horta. Building off back-to-back blocks from the duo of Ambrose and Leahy, as well as an Ambrose kill, the Mountaineers took a 12-8 lead. With a 5-0 run that included three consecutive blocks from Ambrose and Leahy as well as a kill from Ambrose, and a block from Leahy and Marchal, the Mountaineers extended the deficit to 23-15. A kill from Marchal brought the Mountaineers to set point and a kill from junior Kenady Roper secured the set, 25-18.
In the third and final set, Winthrop established an early lead. The Mountaineers tirelessly chipped away at the deficit, narrowing the deficit to 20-17 after a Marchal ace. An impressive six-point run that included kills from Smith, Horta, and Ambrose, as well as a pair of blocks from the duo of Horta and Winterhoff, gave the Black and Gold a late 23-21 edge. Ambrose brought the Mountaineers to set point with her ninth kill of the match. A kill from Leahy clinched the set (25-23) and the match (3-0).
App State will close out the Black & Gold Invitational with a 4 p.m. match against Wofford on Saturday.
Full Mountaineer Classic Schedule & Results
Thursday, Sept. 12
Wofford 3, Winthrop 0
Clemson 3, App State 0
Friday, Sept. 13
Clemson 3, Wofford 2
App State 3, Winthrop 0
Saturday, Sept. 14
1 p.m. – Winthrop vs. Clemson
4 p.m. – App State vs. Wofford
{Information provided by Appalachian State Athletics}
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