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HomeSportsKaylee Taff's 15 kills not enough in APSU Volleyball loss at Belmont

Kaylee Taff’s 15 kills not enough in APSU Volleyball loss at Belmont

APSU Sports Information

APSU Women's Volleyball - Austin Peay State UniversityNashville, TN – Sophomore Kaylee Taff‘s career-best 15 kills were not enough as Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team could not stop Belmont’s match-ending scoring burst and dropped a five-set (19-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-15, 13-15) Ohio Valley Conference decision, Friday, at Curb Events Center.

Austin Peay Volleyball falls at Belmont in five sets. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Volleyball falls at Belmont in five sets. (APSU Sports Information)

Austin Peay (16-8, 7-2 OVC) got to 13-9 in the fifth set after junior Ashley Slay‘s 13th kill of the night.

However, it would not score another point as Belmont utilized four APSU errors to piece together a 6-0 match-ending run.

The loss ended the Govs six-match win streak and they ended the night second in the OVC regular-season race.

The Governors forced the fifth set after rallying from a disappointing third-set loss that saw it record just eight kills in that third set and fail to capitalize on 10 Belmont errors. Austin Peay roared out of the gates in the fourth, using five consecutive points to grab a 7-4 lead early.

APSU Volleyball - Kaylee TaffA later 7-0 APSU run turned the tide firmly in the Govs favor, 14-5, and they eased their way to a 25-15 win to force the tiebreaker set.

Sophomore Kaylee Taff recorded a career-best 15 kills at a .419 attack percentage in the loss. She provided five kills in the important fourth set rally and chipped in three kills in the fifth frame. Slay finished with 13 kills and sophomore Cecily Gable added a 10-kill outing.

Austin Peay was held to 50 kills at a .164 attack percentage. The Govs defense topped Belmont’s, posting a 81-75 advantage in digs and a 10-4 lead in blocks.

APSU Volleyball - Ginny GerigFreshman Ginny Gerig led the Govs with 22 blocks while Taff and Slay had four blocks each.

Belmont’s Brie Lewis led all hitters with 17 kills and served up four aces. Alexa Nichols chipped in 16 kills at a .452 attack percentage while Arianna Person finished with a 13-kill, 17-dig double-double.

The Bruins overcame an error-filled performance as they were charged with 35 attack errors, 11 service errors, five reception errors and six blocking errors. Belmont did finish with 65 kills and a .149 attack percentage.

Inside The Box Score

Taff Takes Charge
With the Govs facing a 2-1 deficit, Taff took over in the fourth set, scoring five of the Govs 10 kills in the frame and adding two blocks. She finished with a career-best 15 kills – her third double-digit kill performance in her last four outings – and added a match-high four blocks.

APSU Volleyball - Cecily GableGable Enjoying OVC Fridays
Sophomore Cecily Gable made an impact for the third consecutive OVC Friday, finishing with 10 kills at Belmont. She has posted double-digit kills in each of her last three Friday outings, posting 35 kills in those contests.

Govs Streak Stopped at Six
For the second time this season, Austin Peay saw a win streak stopped at six matches. The Govs brought a six-match streak into Friday’s contest, but suffered only their second loss in a five-set match. Austin Peay fell to 4-2 in five-set contests this season.

Austin Peay will not have to wait long to get a chance to bounce back as it faces Tennessee State in a 2:00pm, Saturday OVC contest at Kean Hall.

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