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HomeSportsAPSU Lady Govs Volleyball drop four set match to Eastern Illinois Panthers

APSU Lady Govs Volleyball drop four set match to Eastern Illinois Panthers

APSU Sports Information

Austin Peay State University Lady Govs - APSUCharleston, IL – Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team pushed Eastern Illinois before dropping a four-set (17-25, 25-23, 23-25, 22-25) Ohio Valley Conference decision, Friday night, at Lantz Arena.

Austin Peay (6-18, 1-8 OVC) could not match Eastern Illinois’ offensive fire power in the opening frame.

Austin Peay Women's Volleyball. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Women’s Volleyball. (APSU Sports Information)

The Lady Govs had just 11 kills at a .125 attack percentage while Eastern Illinois rocketed out of the gate with 17 kills at a .400 attack percentage.

The Panthers claimed the first set in wire-to-wire fashion, 25-17.

The Lady Govs led the bulk of the second set only to see the Panthers rally late and claim a 23-22 lead. Austin Peay did not surrender and scored the final three points – one courtesy a Sammie Ebright service ace – to win the set, 25-23.

Eastern Illinois (12-11, 7-2 OVC) built a 6-2 lead early in the third set, but Austin Peay battled back and claimed the lead midway through the frame. The Lady Govs 13-12 lead was short lived as the Panthers won the next five points for a 17-13 lead. An Austin Peay 5-0 run tied the set at 20-20 but it could not regain the lead as the team’s traded the next four points. EIU closed the set with a 3-1 run to win 25-23.

Austin Peay grabbed a 12-8 lead in the fourth set and was on the cusp of forcing a fifth set when it lead 20-15. But Eastern Illinois scored nine kills as part of a match-ending 10-2 run, winning 25-22.

Peyton Walker stepped up and did a good job blocking and hitting. April (Adams) played pretty good defense and Logan (Carger) and Kelly (Ferguson) came up with some big blocks at key times. Eastern Illinois was a better defensive team and more efficient hitting but we fought hard for every point,” stated APSU Volleyball head coach Taylor Mott.

Samantha Strother led Austin Peay with a 13-kill, 10-dig double-double performance. Peyton Walker came off the bench to add nine kills. Austin Peay finished with 48 kills but was held to a .142 attack percentage. The Lady Govs did record seven service aces, including four by April Adams.

Taylor Smith’s 18-kill, 20-assist, 14-dig, six-block performance paced Eastern Illinois. She was one of four players to reach double-digit kill territory as the Panthers posted 63 kills at a .269 attack percentage.

Austin Peay continues its Illinois Swing with a 2:00pm, Saturday contest at SIU Edwardsville.

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