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Logan Carger, Ashley Slay lead APSU Volleyball to OVC Tournament win over Tennessee State

APSU Sports Information

APSU Women's Volleyball - Austin Peay State UniversityMurray, KY – Junior Ashley Slay and sophomore Logan Carger teamed up for 34 kills to pace Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team to a four-set (25-19, 25-16, 20-25, 25-13) victory against Tennessee State in the opening match of the Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Championship, Thursday afternoon at Racer Arena.

Austin Peay Volleyball's Logan Carger has 15 kills in win over Tennessee State in opening OVC Tournament Match. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Volleyball’s Logan Carger has 15 kills in win over Tennessee State in opening OVC Tournament Match. (APSU Sports Information)

Slay opened the tournament with 19 kills in an errorless attack performance, finishing with a .463 attack percentage. Carger tied her career high with a 15-kill outing, also posting a .264 attack percentage.

The duo came out charging hard in the opening set, each posting six kills to lead the Govs 17-kill opening set effort. Junior Christina White helped break the set open with a pair of service aces as part of a 4-0 run that gave the Govs a 20-14 advantage they would hold the rest of the way.

APSU Volleyball - Sammie EbrightAustin Peay (24-10) broke the second set open early thanks to senior Sammie Ebright, who served two aces as part of a 7-0 run on her serve to build a 9-3 APSU lead. Tennessee State would get no closer than five points the rest of the way.

Tennessee State (17-16) would recover in the third set, using its service game to break up the Govs momentum. Austin Peay led by four points, 16-12, after another quick start. However, Curstyn Wilson served up a 5-0 run to tie the set. The Tigers would take the lead and then extended it on Samantha Beltran’s serve, building a 23-19 lead it would not relinquish.

The fourth set got off to a nip-and-tuck start with the Govs unable to build more than a three-point lead. But Slay served up a 6-0 burst that was part of a larger 8-1 run that gave the Govs an 18-9 lead after a Carger block. Ebright would extend the lead with a 6-0 run on her serve before Carger closed the match with a kill.

Carger and Slay led an Austin Peay offense that posted 58 kills and a .256 attack percentage in the match. Slay also had six blocks as the Govs posted 11 blocks in the match.

The defensive effort helped limit Tennessee State to 43 kills and a .117 attack percentage. Taylor Patterson led the Tigers with 11 kills and a .323 attack percentage.

Inside The Box Score

APSU Volleyball - Ashley SlayOn To The Semifinals
Thursday’s opening round win was the Govs 18th OVC tournament victory all time. The Govs will make their 16th semifinal appearance against the winner of the SIU Edwardsville-Morehead State contest. In addition, it was Austin Peay’s first victory against Tennessee State in the tournament, leveling its tourney record against the Tigers at 1-1.

Steady Slay Stuns Tigers
Austin Peay went to junior Ashley Slay early in often in Thursday’s contest. Her 41 attack attempts were her second most this season. Slay posted 19 kills for the second time in November – opening the month with 19 kills against Murray State.

APSU Volleyball - Logan CargerCharging Carger
Sophomore Logan Carger, the other half of the Govs middle blocker duo, also saw a lot of action against Tennessee State. She finished with a season-high 38 attack attempts and tied her career high with 15 kills, a mark she also set earlier in November (vs. Morehead State, November 5th). It was her fifth double-digit kill total in the Govs last six matches.

Supporting Cast Stars
Slay and Carger were quick to compliment their teammates after the match. Libero Ginny Gerig led the way with 25 digs, her fifth outing of 20-plus digs in the Govs last six matches. Setter Kristen Stucker, the OVC Setter of the Year, was credited with 53 assists on the Govs 58 kills and marshalled an offense that hit .256 in the opener.

Austin Peay advances to the OVC tournament semifinals where they will face the winner of the SIUE-Morehead State contest in a 4:30pm, Friday matchup.

Box Score

Tennessee State vs. Austin Peay

Team   1 2 3 4 Records
Austin Peay (3) 25 25 20 25 24-10
Tennessee State (1) 19 16 25 13 17-16

 

Video

Ashley Slay and Logan Carger – Nov. 17, 2016

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4VddPYFzUY[/youtube]

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