The App State volleyball team opened the 2023 campaign with a pair of sweeps at the Mountaineer Classic on Friday in Boone. The Mountaineers opened the tournament with an afternoon 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-19) victory over William & Mary before defeating Bellarmine 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-19) in the evening.

App State 3, William & Mary 0
In the season opener, fifth-year senior McCall Denny led the team with eight kills in addition to 10 digs. Redshirt freshman Katie Cruise posted a career and team high three aces in addition to 14 assists in her debut on the court. At the net, sophomore Maya Winterhoff posted a team-high six blocks, which included five solo blocks, and recorded a hitting percentage of .700 after slamming down seven kills.

App State recorded 11 blocks compared to William & Mary’s two. The Mountaineers also posted five kills to the Tribe’s two and 37 digs to the Tribe’s 33.

The Mountaineers and Tribe battled through a tight first set after the Black and Gold found its groove, coming back from an early 6-3 deficit. App State went on a four-point run that included blocks from the duo of juniors Lulu Ambrose/Lauren Pledger and freshman Ava Leahy/Pledger, taking an 18-15 lead. Tied at 21 all, the Mountaineers saw an ace from sophomore Kenady Roper and a solo block from Denny to lead 23-21. Denny sealed the first set, 25-22, with back-to-back kills. In the second set, the Mountaineers jumped to an early 6-2 lead after a kill and block from Denny in addition to back-to-back kills and a solo block from Winterhoff. Leading with an 11-10 edge, App State went on an 8-1 run that included three consecutive kills from freshman Delanie Grevegoed, to expand the lead to 19-11. As the Tribe struggled to catch up, the Mountaineers pulled ahead 24-18 after kills from Leahy and Pledger. A Tribe attack error sealed set two, 25-18, for App State. Kicking off the final set with a 7-1 lead, App State pulled away with a kill from Winterhoff and ace from Denny (19-15). After a 4-0 scoring run, an ace from Cruise brought the Mountaineers to set point. William & Mary mustered two points before Pledger slammed down a set and match-sealing kill (25-19).

App State 3, Bellarmine 0
Junior Lulu Ambrose and Grevegoed split the lead for kills with nine apiece, boasting hitting percentages of .563 and .500, respectively. Cruise commanded the assists category with a career-high 19. Denny posted a team-high seven digs and sophomore Alyssa McBean tallied three aces.

App State posted all eight of the matches’ aces. The Mountaineers posted 41 kills to Bellarmine’s 25 and 35 assists to the Knights’ 24.

The Mountaineers led a commanding first set that featured a 5-0 scoring run that brought the team to a 23-12 lead over the Knights. Leahy posted a pair of kills to take the set 25-15. The second set proved to be a tighter competition at the beginning as the Mountaineers and Knights traded leads on six occasions early on. A 5-0 scoring run gave the Black and Gold a solid 17-10 lead. Building on their momentum, the Mountaineers went on a 7-0 scoring run that included kills from Ambrose, an ace from Winterhoff, and block from Pledger/Leahy, which led to set point. App State took the second set, 25-14. In the third and final set, App State and Bellarmine went point for point until the Mountaineers took a 19-16 lead, building off a 5-0 scoring run. Another 5-0 scoring run, that featured kills from Pledger and Grevengoed as well as aces from McBean, brought App State to set and match point. Bellarmine mustered one last point before Denny slammed down a final kill for a set score of 25-19 and match sweep.

Up Next
App State will close out the Mountaineer Classic on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. against Tennessee Tech.

Full Mountaineer Classic Tournament Scores & Schedule
Friday, Aug. 25
Tennessee Tech 3, Bellarmine 0
App State 3, William & Mary 0
William & Mary 3, Tennessee Tech 2
App State 3, Bellarmine 0

Saturday, Aug. 26
11 AM – William & Mary vs. Bellarmine
1:30 PM – App State vs. Tennessee Tech