CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – A matchup between two of the Ohio Valley Conference’s top teams proved up to its billing as Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team forced Murray State to four sets (25-27, 20-25, 25-21, 17-25) before yielding, Tuesday night at the Dunn Center.

The match got off to an entertaining start with the opening set featuring 11 ties and three lead changes on the way to going into overtime. Austin Peay (21-9, 10-3 OVC) had to rally from a 23-19 deficit to tie the set 24-24. The Govs could not get a set point of their own though as the Racers fended off the Govs run and winning the set with an Alex Kaufmann service ace.

Murray State (17-8, 12-1 OVC) took control of the second set at the midway point, using a 7-1 run to build a 18-13 lead. Austin Peay would battle back with four straight points near the end of the frame, closing to within 24-20, but could not recover from the mid-set lapse.

Austin Peay came out of the break and won another back-and-forth set that featured 11 ties and five lead changes. The Governors asserted control of the frame with a 7-2 run that included kills from four different APSU hitters for a 22-17 lead. Austin Peay nursed that lead to the end with junior Ashley Slay providing the set-winning kill.
The Racers’ Kristen Besselsen helped her squad gain early control of the fourth set, posting four consecutive kills for a 6-2 early lead. The Governors would get as close as two points the rest of the way, but no closer as Murray State clinched the match.

Slay led the Govs with a 19-kill, .400-attack percentage performance. Sophomore Logan Carger posted career bests in kills (14) and blocks (six) in an impressive outing. Austin Peay finished with 51 kills and a .218 attack percentage.

Carger’s six-block effort led the Govs defense which posted seven blocks. Freshman Ginny Gerig (23 digs) and senior Sammie Ebright (22) were the backbone of an 83-dig outing.

Besselsen led Murray State with a 25-kill, .345-attack outing. Scottie Ingram posted 15 kills but was held to a .055 attack percentage. The Racers ended the night with 69 kills and a .216 attack percentage. Ellie Lorenz led Murray State’s defense with 30 of her team’s 87 digs.

Austin Peay continues its four-match homestand when it hosts Morehead State in a 1 p.m., Saturday contest at the Dunn Center.