CULLOWHEE, N.C. –– Appalachian State University volleyball dropped its fourth match in a row when it conceded a 2-0 match lead to Western Carolina on Tuesday evening.

The Mountaineers (2-5) were led again by true freshman Emma Longley who tallied 24 kills and finished with a hitting percentage of .310. Longley also collected a double-double with 12 digs.

Ashlyn Brown bounced back with a 32 assist performance. Kati Stammen led the defense with 17 digs, while Kennedy Wilson finished with 14.

“Credit to Western who rallied around each other, without their starting setter on the floor and played very well in the last three sets,” said head coach Matt Ginipro. “We just aren't very consistent right now. One piece is good and another falls apart which is leading to stress on the court. Our offense was pretty good but our first ball contact wasn't. We competed hard in the first two sets, but that went away in the last three. Our training environment needs to change because what we currently are doing clearly isn't working. That's on me. We've got to find ways to get better and more consistent on the court.”

App State took the first two sets to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. The Apps built up a 16-10 advantage in the first set and used kills from Jenna Talbert, an attack ace from Brown and errors from the Catamounts to finish the set 25-17.

Much like the opening set, App State used an 8-3 run up 17-16 to finish off Western in the second set. The run was keyed by a kill from Brown and capped by an ace from Olivia Reed.

Appalachian fell behind early in the third set and got down by as many as nine at 21-12. The Catamounts used kills and three errors from the Mountaineers to extend the match with a 25-14 victory.

Both teams battled back and forth in the fourth set with the score eventually tied 20-20. Back-to-back kills from Western Carolina forced a Mountaineer timeout. App State couldn't recover from the two-point deficit and lost the set 25-22. 

With the match tied and the fifth set in favor of the Apps at 9-8, the Catamounts went on a 7-0 run to clinch the set and seal the match. Six Mountaineer errors combined with a kill from WCU ended the match.

The Mountaineers will return to the court on Friday, Sept. 9 when they travel to the Morehead State Tournament. The Apps will play Morehead State and Northern Kentucky on Friday and Ball State on Saturday.