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HomeSportsAustin Peay Lady Govs Volleyball have key divisional home matches this weekend

Austin Peay Lady Govs Volleyball have key divisional home matches this weekend

APSU Sports: Austin Peay Volleyball

Austin Peay State University Lady GovsClarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University’s Volleyball team begins a regular-season ending four-match home stand with two weekend contests. The Lady Govs host UT Martin in a 7:00pm, Friday Ohio Valley Conference contest before hosting OVC West Division-leading Southeast Missouri in a 4:30pm, Saturday contest that is part of AP Pride Day.

Austin Peay Women's Volleyball. (Courtesy: Brittney Sparn/APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Women’s Volleyball. (Courtesy: Brittney Sparn/APSU Sports Information)

Austin Peay (14-14, 7-5 OVC West) sits second in the West Division behind Southeast Missouri (17-11, 9-3 OVC West) with four league matches remaining. However, the Lady Govs would be seeded fifth if the OVC Tournament were to start today.

“While the divisional title is in sight, I still believe we have to focus on playing our best volleyball down the stretch,” said Lady Govs head coach Taylor Mott. “If we do our job I believe our place in the standings will take care of itself.”

Nikki DoyleSenior outside hitter Nikki Doyle has been a force in Ohio Valley Conference play this season, ranking second among the league’s hitters with 4.48 kills per set. She had a streak of four consecutive 20-kill outings stopped at Tennessee State, last Saturday, but still posted 14 kills in the four-set win.

Sophomore outside hitter Jada Stotts also has shown flashes during the OVC campaign and ranks sixth with 3.40 kills per set, including a team-best 16-kill effort against Tennessee State.

Jada Stotts“Nikki and Jada have been our go-to hitters throughout conference play,” said Mott. “Cami (Fields) has done a great job of setting up all our hitters to succeed; it’s a matter of our hitters getting the ball to the court.”

UT Martin (10-16, 6-6 OVC West) has made a surprising move to the middle of the division standings. The Skyhawks bring a two-match win streak into the Dunn Center, picking up road wins against both Eastern Illinois and SIU Edwardsville last weekend.

In the previous meeting between APSU and UTM, the Lady Govs emerged with a three-set victory in Martin, October 6th. Both Doyle and Stotts recorded 12 kills in the win while sophomore middle blocker Hillary Plybon added 10 kills. The Lady Govs posted a 45-34 advantage in blocks to secure the win.

Hillary PlybonSoutheast Missouri has seen its division lead erode the past three weeks with losses in four of its last five matches. The Redhawks suffered OVC losses at Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky two weekends ago before settling for a split of its matches last weekend, defeating SIU Edwardsville before falling to Eastern Illinois.

However, the Redhawks won the first meeting against the Lady Govs in four sets, October 5th. Austin Peay’s offense was grounded, posting a sub-par .160 attack percentage. Doyle recorded 23 kills and Stotts added 18 kills, but they accounted for 41 of the team’s 52 kills.

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