CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (ESPN CLARKSVILLE) – Senior Ashley Slay finished with 19 kills and sophomore libero Ginny Gerig notched a season-best 28 digs but Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team dropped a four-set decision (19-25, 23-25, 28-26, 12-25) to Northern Iowa, Sunday afternoon in the final match of the Culvers Governors Challenge at the Dunn Center.
Slay, who nearly notched her third straight 20- kill performance against the Panthers, earned all-tournament honors after posting 69 kills (4.31 per set), second-most among hitters in the tournament. Gerig also earned all-tournament recognition after posting a tournament best 80 digs (5.00 per set).
In a matchup of the tournament’s only two unbeaten teams entering the day, Austin Peay (3-1) broke out to big leads in each of the first three sets. Northern Iowa (3-0) would file a response in each case and slipped past the Govs in the first two sets. However, Austin Peay fended off the challenge en route to winning the third set. The Panthers, who advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season, led the final set wire-to-wire.
Slay’s 19-kill outing saw her open the match with seven kills in the first set and finish the match with a .308 attack percentage and three blocks. Gerig added a kill and two assists to her 28-dig performance.
UNI’s Karlie Taylor earned all-tournament honors after a 21-kill, 14-dig performance against the Govs. Thomas was named the tournament’s “Most Valuable Player” after a 16-kill, six block outing in Sunday’s finale.
Austin Peay now prepares to start a nine-match road trip, which begins with the UAB Invitational, Sept 1-2. The Govs will face Georgia State, host UAB and Western Illinois in the round-robin event.