MOREHEAD, Ky. –– Emma Longley turned in a historic performance with a program-record 37 kills in a five-set loss (25-21, 17-25, 31-29, 21-25, 9-15) to Ball State on Saturday. Longley also finished with her sixth double-double of the season with a team-and-career-high 20 digs.

Longley's 37 kills broke Brittany Zahn's record of 36, which stood for nearly eight seasons until today. Zahn recorded 36 kills at UNCG on Oct. 6, 2007. 

The Mountaineers (2-8) dropped its sixth-straight match and its fifth in five sets. App State was paced offensively and defensively by Longley, while Alana Shoff also finished in double-digits with 10 kills.

Offensively, Amanda Krahl nearly cracked the program's top-ten list for assists in a match - finishing with a career-high 62. Krahl also tallied 11 digs for her second double-double of the season.

Kati Stammen and Taylor Ashcraft also finished with double-digit digs with 19 and 12, respectively.

Appalachian continued its trend of opening the match with a set victory to grab early momentum. With the score tied 6-6, the Mountaineers used an 8-3 run to take a 14-9 lead and forced a Ball State timeout.

The Mountaineers would extend its lead to as many as six at 19-13. The Cardinals would come back to tie the set at 19-19, but three straight kills from Shoff and Longley gave App State enough breathing room to finish off the set 25-21.

The Cardinals (2-9) would come back to tie the match in the second set. Ball State opened up a nine-point lead and finished with a 25-17 win.

In a dramatic third set, Appalachian found a way to prevail 31-29. Beginning at 19-19, the set was tied 11 times until a kill from Sloan Evans coupled with a Cardinal attack error gave the Apps a dramatic match-swinging set victory.

A closely contested fourth set would go Ball State's way, 25-21. Appalachian led late 20-19, but a 6-1 run from the Cardinals clinched the set and tied the match 2-2 - sending it to a decisive fifth set.

The Black and Gold held two leads in the fifth set, but after taking a 5-4 lead on an Evans kill, Ball State finished sealed the match with an 11-4 run.

EAGLE CHALLENGE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Emma Longley, Appalachian State
Sabrina Mangapora, Ball State
Kate Avila, Ball State

The Mountaineers will return to action next Friday, Sept. 16 when they travel to the Scenic City Showdown - hosted by Chattanooga. There, the Apps will play the host Mocs to open the tournament and finish with two matches on Saturday, Sept. 17 against Ole Miss and Tennessee State.