MURRAY, Ky. – (CLARKSVILLENOW) Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team got out to a hot start and could not be cooled off in a three-set Ohio Valley Conference sweep (25-21, 25-11, 25-11) of Murray State, Tuesday night, at Racer Arena.
It was the 11th consecutive win by Austin Peay (17-2, 5-0 OVC), one shy of the program record. It also was the Govs record-tying fourth-straight sweep as they have also tied a program record with 14 consecutive sets won.
The Governors set the tone from the opening serve as Jenna Panning and Kaylee Taff stopped Murray State’s Rachel Giustino with a block. The Racers opened the match by committing seven consecutive attack errors – three forced by APSU blocks — before recording their first kill, but the Govs owned a 10-4 lead and never looked back.
Murray State (11-6, 3-2 OVC) never saw its offense get on track, committing 24 attack errors in the three-set contest while posting just 27 kills for a .029 attack percentage. The Govs supplied a helping hand to the Racers woes with nine blocks.
Senior Ashley Slay paced the Govs with 12 kills, six blocks and a service ace, having a hand in 18 of the Govs 54 points earned. Redshirt junior Christina White tacked on an 11-kill effort that saw her hit .348. Austin Peay finished with 40 kills and a .253 team attack percentage.
Murray State’s Rachel Giustino, the OVC’s leading hitter entering the match, was held to eight kills and a minus-.031 attack percentage.
Head coach Taylor Mott continued her march toward two significant victory marks. Tuesday’s win was her 399th career win as well as was her 95th Austin Peay victory.
Austin Peay returns home for a brief one-match homestand when it hosts Eastern Kentucky in a noon, Saturday, OVC contest at the Dunn Center. Admission to all Governors volleyball matches is free to the public.