October 1 , 1998

All good things must come to an end. For the ASU volleyball team, their unblemished conference mark of 5-0 received a scar Monday night in Varsity Gym as they lost in five games to Furman (6-15, 15-8, 10-15, 15-8, 13-15).

The Mountaineers had won eight of their past 10 matches before losing to Furman. It was their first conference defeat since they lost in the second round of the Southern Conference tournament last November.  ASU now stands at 8-7 on the season with a 5-1 conference record. With the Mountaineer loss, Chattanooga assumed sole possession of first place in the league with the only unbeaten conference mark at 6-0.

The first two games of the Furman match were lopsided, as the Paladins won the first, 15-6 and ASU took the second game, 15-8.  “We came out flat in the first game,” said Head Coach Dave Markland.

After Furman took the third game, Appalachian kept the match alive with a 15-8 victory to force the decisive fifth game.  In the final game, Furman jumped out to a 14-6 lead before the Mountaineers rallied for seven straight points to cut the margin to one at 14-13.

It wasn’t enough, as the Paladins put the game away and won the match.  “We had great momentum, but (the comeback) just didn’t happen.  We should have never let it get to that point,”  said Markland.

Furman improved to .500 at 8-8 and 3-3 in the conference.  Markland felt ASU had the better team, but “didn’t keep the pressure (on Furman).  I didn’t think our passing was sharp, and that made it really hard on our hitters.”

In the loss, Appalachian was led by senior Paula Levay with 21 kills and sophomore Devon Greene who registered 18 kills.  Hendersonville, N.C. native Tiffany White had 54 assists to lead all players.

The day before Furman came to town, ASU pounded Wofford College in three games (15-4, 15-6, 15-8).  The Mountaineers scored the first 14 points in game.  “We hit .370 as a team,” said Markland.

The Terriers were what their name implies - terrible.  “I don’t think they played their best volleyball,” said Markland.  “They came out a little flat.”  Wofford  only recorded 21 kills and 16 assists.

This week’s Southern Conference player of the week, Stephanie Young, had 17 kills to lead Appalachian.  Levay and Greene added nine kills for ASU.  White had 13 more assists than the entire Terrier squad, with 29 assists.  The loss dropped Wofford to 4-5 and 2-3 in conference play.  The win was the second straight for the Mountaineers as they began the week of play with an upset of UNC-Greensboro.

It was an upset because of the pre-season ranking and not because of play this season. The Spartans entered the game with only one conference loss, but after their visit to Varsity Gym, they doubled that number.

Appalachian took the match in four games (15-10, 15-11, 7-15, 15-13).  Markland said he was “a little surprised of how Greensboro came out.  We expected them to be tougher.”

ASU was led once again by Young with 19 kills and Levay added 11 kills. Juniors Lori Schott and Katie Essig had ten kills apiece.  Tops in assists for ASU was White with 51. “Our passers are doing their job,” Markland said.

The win gave the Mountaineers a 5-0 conference mark, but Markland wasn’t surprised. “I knew it was certainly possible,” he said.

Markland also knows it’s too early in the season to get too excited about a good start.

He commented, “There’s a lot more volleyball to be played.”

The next task for the Mountaineers will be a visit to Chattanooga on Sunday and a showdown for the top spot in the conference.

The Mocs are the defending champions and have won a record 28 straight conference matches. Markland, however, is undaunted by the record. “I think they’re beatable,” he said.

Appalachian’s next home appearance will be next Thursday against mountain rivals, East Tennessee State. The Bucs and ASU will tee it up at 7 p.m..