CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – (CLARKSVILLE) Austin Peay State University volleyball’s senior middle blocker Ashley Slay, junior setter Kristen Stucker and head coach Taylor Mott each received one of the Ohio Valley Conference’s major year-end awards, presented Wednesday night prior to the start of the 2017 OVC Volleyball Championship at the Dunn Center.
Slay, of Nashville, became the fourth Austin Peay athlete – and first since 2009 – to be named the league’s Offensive Player of the Year. She joins Connie Caldwell (1987), Isabel Canedo (1992) and Stephanie Champine (2009) as the only Govs to receive the league’s top volleyball award.
Stucker, of Johnstown, Iowa, was named the conference’s Setter of the Year for a second consecutive season in just the third season the award has been presented by the league.
Mott, in her sixth season at Austin Peay, becomes only the second Governors head coach – and first since 1992 – to be named the OVC’s Coach of the Year. It is the fifth time an APSU head coach has been named the league’s top mentor, former head coach Cheryl Holt received the honor four times.
In addition to the league’s top honors, a record four Governors athletes were named to the 34th Volleyball All-OVC teams. Slay and Stucker were each selected First-Team All-OVC, becoming the first pair of Govs to be named to first team honors in the same season since 2011. In addition, redshirt junior outside hitter Christina White and freshman outside hitter Brooke Moore were named Second-Team All-OVC.
Mott and the Governors will host the 2017 OVC Volleyball Championship, Thursday-Saturday, at the Dunn Center. The tournament gets underway with the opening match between Murray State and Jacksonville State Thursday. Top-seeded Austin Peay will face No. 8 seed Southeast Missouri in the opening day’s final match, beginning at 7 p.m., Thursday. Fans can attend of the tournament matches free of charge.