APSU Lady Govs Volleyball beats Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles in four sets

Austin Peay Sports Information

Clarksville, TN – Junior Samantha Strother led all hitters with 15 kills and Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team rallied to post a four-set victory (18-25, 26-24, 25-17, 25-21)  against Tennessee Tech, Friday night, at the Dunn Center.

Austin Peay (12-15, 6-5 OVC) got off to a quick start in the opening set, leading 6-2. Tennessee Tech broke the Lady Govs momentum and used a 7-0 run, including three Kellie Williams kills, to build a 12-9 advantage.

The Lady Govs could not recover and ultimately trailed by six points before falling 25-18.

The second set was more closely fought with 12 ties and two lead changes. The first lead change came when Tennessee Tech notched back-to-back kills to take a 2-1 lead. The Golden Eagles lead would reach six points, 14-8, after an Austin Peay error.

From there the Lady Govs used an 8-2 run, spurred by kills from five different hitters, to tie the set 16-16. That began a series where the teams traded points, with the bulk of the 12 ties occurring in the final stretch. Austin Peay would fend off a set point with a Jada Stotts kill then an Aubrey Marsellis block gave APSU its first set point, which it immediately converted with another Stotts kill, 26-24.

Austin Peay rode the momentum of its come-back win to post a wire-to-wire victory in the third set. The Lady Govs broke out to a 9-1 lead, Stotts recording three kills and two service aces. Tennessee Tech would close to within five points, 21-16, but an Austin Peay timeout and a Hillary Plybon kill ended the threat. The Lady Govs scored the final three points to secure the 25-17 win.

The fourth set was close early, with four ties in the opening 14 points, as Austin Peay charged out to a 4-1 lead only to watch Tennessee Tech use a pair of service aces to tie the set 5-5.

The Lady Govs gained breathing room again with a 3-0 run to build a 10-7 lead.

They would maintain that lead until late in the set when the Golden Eagles closed within a point, 20-19. But back-to-back kills by Marsellis and Slay stabilized APSU’s lead and they closed the frame with back-to-back kills by Strother and Plybon to win the match.

Strother’s 15 kills – she had seven in the tide-turning second set – were one shy of her career best and came while she hit .382. Marsellis chipped in a career-high tying 12 kills while Stotts (11 kills) and Plybon (10) also reached double-digit kill territory.

Austin Peay finished with 57 kills and a .213 attack percentage. However, the Lady Govs had 48 kills and hit .248 in the final three sets.

Cody Dodd led Tennessee Tech with 14 kills, but was limited to a .163 attack percentage. The Golden Eagles recorded 47 kills but posted just a .188 attack percentage.

Austin Peay closes out its home schedule with a 1:00pm, Saturday contest against Jacksonville State.

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