CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. –– Appalachian State University volleyball dropped its eighth-straight match on Friday with its sixth five-set loss in a 3-2 (25-20, 25-22, 16-25, 19-25, 8-15) loss to Chattanooga.

The Mountaineers (2-9) were led by true freshman Emma Longley who finished with 19 kills. Alana Shoff also finished with double-digit kills and totaled 13.

Ashlyn Brown ran the Mountaineer offense on Friday with a 48-assist performance.

Defensively, Olivia Loeffler tallied a team-high 19 digs, while Brown collected 15 and Kennedy Wilson notched 14.

“We are a team that struggles when it gets tough and that's why we haven't been able to find wins,” said head coach Matt Ginipro. “I thought we played two very good sets. Then we were very high error  and tentative in the last three when Chattanooga picked up their game. Part of that is youth and part of that is lack of leadership which we've been battling all year. It's a team that wants to get a win, but we just aren't doing all the things we need to do, on every play, to get that done.”

Appalachian State grabbed the opening two sets to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. App State capped the first set with a kill from Longley and back-to-back errors from the Mocs (6-5).

The Black and Gold built on a solid start and won the second set. With the score tied 22-22, the Mountaineers went on a 3-0 run to win the set with a kill and service ace from Longley and a Moc error.

App State fell behind 11-3 in the third set and would not recover. The Apps would bring the score to within two at 13-11, but a long sustained run from Chattanooga would outlast App State 25-16.

In a closely contested fourth set, Chattanooga would keep a slim lead and fend off the Mountaineers. At 18-16, UTC went on a 5-2 run and would finish off Appalachian 25-19 after two consecutive kills.

A set in which the Mountaineers have struggled all season - they lost 15–8. The fifth set has been a hurdle that App State has yet to get over this season and after finding themselves down 8-4 - a 7-3 run would seal the match for the Mocs.

Appalachian will be back in action tomorrow against both Ole Miss and Tennessee State beginning at 10 a.m.