APSU Sports Information: APSU Volleyball
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team closes out the home portion of its 2011 schedule with a pair of Ohio Valley Conference contests this weekend. First, the Lady Govs will host Tennessee Tech, 7:00pm, Friday before a 1:00pm, Homecoming Saturday contest against Jacksonville State. Prior to the start of Friday’s contest Austin Peay will recognize four seniors: Marie Mullins, Paige Economos, Kayla Grantham, and Illyanna Hernandez.
Austin Peay returns to action just three days removed from a tussle with Morehead State. The Lady Govs got a pair of strong performances from its two middle blockers as it pushed the league-leading Eagles in a four-set loss. Freshman middle blocker Hillary Plybon record a team-best 14 kills while sophomore middle blocker Lauren Henderson added 10 kills and four blocks.
However, the Lady Govs have been unable to maintain consistency throughout a match. Against Morehead State, the Lady Govs offense was strong in the second and fourth sets, including an 18-kill effort in the fourth frame, but wavered in the first and third sets, particularly a 10-kill, eight-error performance in the third set.
“We continue to show flashes of how good we can be when everything is moving together,” said Lady Govs head coach Bill Egbert. “But we are still having those sets where we don’t start out particularly well and it snowballs out of control quickly. That’s something you expect of a young team, but we’re going to have to get under control to make a push for the tournament.”
Tennessee Tech (4-20, 3-11 OVC) sits 11th in the OVC standings, but is only two matches behind Austin Peay. The Golden Eagles have played better in their last three matches, winning a set from both second-place UT Martin and fourth-place Southeast Missouri before defeating sixth-place Murray State in four sets, Saturday. Sophomore outside hitter Natalie Penrod has led the Tennessee Tech offense this season, recording 234 kills (2.96 kills per set).
Jacksonville State (8-16, 6-8 OVC) is tied with Murray State for the sixth, and final, spot in the OVC Tournament. The Gamecocks ended a five-match losing streak with back-to-back wins last weekend, defeating Murray State in four sets before downing Southeast Missouri in five sets. The Gamecocks have gone to five sets in four of their last five matches, proving they are willing to go the distance. Senior middle blocker Stephanie Koontz leads Jacksonville State with 278 kills (3.02 kills per set) and a .301 attack percentage.
Lady Govs Volleyball Seniors
