CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Sophomore Christina White had her best outing in Ohio Valley Conference play, leading Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team to a three-set (25-16, 25-22, 25-20) league victory against Tennessee Tech, Saturday afternoon at the Dunn Center.
White posted her first double-digit kill performance of conference play, finishing with a match-best 13 kills. She opened the contest with six kills on 10 attempts in the opening set to help set the tone for the match. White had just one attack error on the afternoon, posting a .364 attack percentage, and chipped in a service ace and a block.
Austin Peay (16-7, 7-1 OVC) used White’s first-set performance to win nearly wire-to-wire in the opening frame. The Governors offense really hit its stride early in the second set, not recording an attack error until the 37th point, jumping out to a 21-16 lead. However, the closed the second with five attack errors as Tennessee Tech closed to within a pair of points before senior Sammie Ebright ended the set with a kill.
Tennessee Tech (6-15, 2-6 OVC) applied pressure in the third set, rallying from a six-point deficit to tie the set, 19-19, on a K’Vonna Johnson kill. Austin Peay fended off the Golden Eagles and scored the next four points, two courtesy kills from sophomore Kristen Stucker, to regain a comfortable margin it would not surrender.
White’s 13-kills paced the Govs while junior Ashley Slay chipped in 11 kills and a four blocks. Sophomore Kaylee Taff led APSU with four blocks, pacing a defensive effort that ended the day with nine stops. Ebright finished with seven kills, a .353 attack percentage and a match-best 18 digs.
The Govs posted a .316 attack percentage for the contest, recording 47 kills.
Rachel Thomas and Shaneice James each had seven kills to lead Tennessee Tech, which finished with 40 kills but was held to a .191 attack percentage.
Austin Peay begins a three-match road trip with a 6 p.m., Wednesday nonconference tilt at Middle Tennessee. The Govs then stay in state for their OVC weekend pair with contests at fourth-place Belmont (6 p.m., Friday) and sixth-place Tennessee State (2 p.m., Saturday).