BOONE, N.C. – Melissa McMath tallied 28 kills and hit. 358 to lead Appalachian State to a 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 27-25) Sun Belt Conference volleyball victory over Georgia Southern Sunday afternoon in the Holmes Center.

Cathrine Murray led the Eagles (5-11, 2-4) with 12 kills and seven digs, while Lauren Reichard and Skylar Ball each tallied 11 kills and registered seven blocks between them. April Luther recorded 46 assists and 11 digs, and Joscelin Morrow chipped in a match-high 19 digs.

Lexi Kohut posted 17 kills and four blocks for Appalachian State (7-13, 2-4), and Ashlyn Brown collected 56 assists and eight digs. 

The story
Down 2-1 in the match, Murray helped the Eagles fight off two match points with a pair of kills in the fourth before App called timeout. Murray and Reichard combined for a block to give the Eagles set point, but Grace Morrison put down a ball to tie the score. Kohut posted consecutive kills to finish the set and the match.

With the match tied 1-1, the Mountaineers opened an 18-7 lead in the third set. An 8-1 run, sparked by a Reichard kill, brought the Eagles back to within two points late in the set at 22-20. App scored the next two and after an attack error, Courtney Sullivan put down a ball for the 25-21 win.  

The first set went back and forth, and the Eagles found themselves trailing 21-19 after a McMath kill. Kills by Ball and Megan Chevalier and an ace from Casey McColl helped GS rally for three straight points on the way to a 23-22 lead. App tied the score with a block, but GS scored the final two points, the last on a solo block by Luther, to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Quotable from head coach Dustin Wood
"We came out a little flat but found a way to win the first set. I knew we needed better production to win the match, but we played the way we played in the first set, which was not good enough to take the match. We fought but didn't have it today." 

"We have been putting up great block numbers lately and put up ok numbers today, in return putting more opportunities in our transition game, which was very poor today with lack of execution in setting out of system. We need better performances from our setter to get our hitters the ball with a chance to make quality attacks instead of just giving them easy opportunities to score."

"We passed so well today. Joscelin (Morrow) Brooke (Birch) Casey (McColl) and Cathrine (Murray) put up great numbers. When we pass well, we should win, which is the frustrating thing. We have addressed the situation and know the team and individual performances will bounce back with them being hungry leaving another win out there."

"This is the ultimate team game, and we rely on each position to do their job. We can't have someone or a position not doing their job. The game doesn't work like that. We need to realize that, and we are looking for some people to step up. We have a big week ahead of us with home conference matches. I know the team is looking forward to playing at home with our fans supporting us."

Next up
Georgia Southern caps a five-match road swing when the Eagles travel to Savannah State for a non-conference contest Tuesday at 6 p.m. GS hosts Troy (Thursday) and South Alabama (Friday) in Hanner Fieldhouse. Both Sun Belt matches are set for 6:30 p.m.

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