Appalachian State 3, Western Carolina 0

BOONE, N.C. – Kelly Rhein and Anna Wagner each recorded a match-high 11 kills as Appalachian State picked up its third-straight win with a 3-0 sweep of Western Carolina on Wednesday, Oct. 12 at the Holmes Center.

The Mountaineers (13-7, 5-1) stayed atop the SoCon North with their third-straight conference win while the Catamounts (8-14, 3-3) fell a full two games back on the standings.

Appalachian was dominant through the first two sets as it never trailed and allowed Western Carolina to pull even just once through the first two sets.

ASU jumped out to 10-5 lead in the first set and never led by less than five the rest of the way en route to a 25-16 set victory. Wagner, who ended the deciding third set with a kill, also ended the first set with one of her 11 kills.

The second set was nearly identical to the first, though the Catamounts were unable to ever tie the set at any point. The Mountaineers jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead on back-to-back services aces from Rhein and stayed in front for another 25-16 set win.

Western Carolina did not go quietly in the final set as it rallied from a 14-10 deficit to take a 17-16 lead late in the match. The Apps rallied with three-straight points to take a19-17 lead before the Catamounts tied it at 20-20.

Alison Blasingame and Jessica Eley notched back-to-back kills to give ASU a 22-20 lead en route to a 25-21 match-clinching win.

The Mountaineers hit a blistering .348 while holding the Catamounts to just .212. Blasingame finished with 10 kills on the evening while Courtney Rhein had a match-high 20 digs. Kasey Sauls led all players with 29 assists and Eley had three block assists.