BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University volleyball dropped a five-set thriller, 3-2 (23-25, 25-20, 25-22, 15-25, 13-15), to Missouri State in the 2017 season opener on Friday at the Holmes Center.
The Mountaineers (0-1) were lead offensively by Emma Longley who finished with a team-high 18 kills and she was followed by freshman Kara Spicer who had 15 kills in her App State debut. Melissa McMath was the other Mountaineer to finish with double-digit kills with 14. Ashlyn Brown dished out 48 assists.
Defensively, four Mountaineers collected double-digit digs. Longley and Brown finished with 13 and 10, respectively, and Olivia Loeffler led the team with 24. Freshman Emma Reilly rounded out the defense with 14 digs.
In the match-tying second set with a 22-20 lead, App State used two kills by McMath and a Missouri State (1-0) setting error to secure the first set win of the season.
Neither team could get a lead higher than three points in the third set until the Mountaineers went on 5-0 run at the end of the set. McMath made a huge block to put App State up 24-20 right before the Bears benefited from a App State service error. The Mountaineers would then win the set and take a 2-1 lead on a Spicer kill.
Missouri State would control much of the fourth set as the Bears used a 6-0 run to close out a 25-15 set win, leveling the match at 2-2.
In the match-deciding fifth set, Missouri State lead halfway though, 8-6, but the Mountaineers would go on a 4-0 run to take a 13-12 lead. The Bears would score three-straight points and secure a 15-13 victory.
Appalachian heads to Wilmington for the Springhill Suites Mayfaire Invitational on Saturday and Sunday. The Black and Gold will play Davidson on Friday at 9:30 a.m. before play the host UNCW at 7:30 p.m. that night. On Sunday, the Mountaineers play a 10:00 a.m. match against Loyola.
