Volleyball: Govs fall in four to defending WAC champion NMSU

TROY, Ala. – Junior Ashley Slay and Christina White combined for 22 kills but Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team dropped a four-set decision (16-25, 29-27, 20-25, 18-25) to defending Western Athletic Conference champion new Mexico State, Friday morning, in the opening contest of the Trojan Invitational at Trojan Arena.

Austin Peay (2-3) got off to a slow start in a match that started at 9:30 a.m., with the offense sputtering through the first set. New Mexico State opened with three consecutive points and did not relinquish that advantage. The Govs closed within a point at 12-11, but the Aggies closed with 13 of the set’s final 18 points to claim the win.

New Mexico State (2-2) nearly repeated its first-set feat in the second frame, again taking an early four-point advantage. The Aggies held that advantage through 10-6 before the Govs used a 6-2 run — spurred by a kill and a block by senior Sammie Ebright – to tie the set, 12-12. Austin Peay built its own six-point advantage, 22-16, and got to set point first. However, NMSU used a kill and a block to force overtime. Five set points later, Slay handed APSU the set with a kill.

After the break, New Mexico State claimed a near wire-to-wire win in the third set with Austin Peay leading twice early. The fourth set saw the Aggies race out to an 8-1 lead and while the Govs fought back to within five points at 22-17, the hole was too deep to climb out of in a match-ending decision.

Slay finished with 11 kills and a .219 attack percentage, leading the Govs in both categories. White chipped in 11 kills and 10 digs for Austin Peay’s first double-double this season. The duo’s 22 kills accounted for nearly half of APSU’s 45-kill outing.

Sasha-Lee Thomas paced New Mexico State with 16 kills and a .667 attack percentage. Jordan Abalos added 14 kills and 15 digs. The Aggies recorded 55 kills at a .288 attack percentage and had eight service aces.

Austin Peay returns to action when it meets Southern in the Friday’s final match of the Trojan Invitational, scheduled to start at 5 p.m.