APSU Sports: Women’s Volleyball
Murfreesboro, TN – Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team will make the 80-mile trip down Interstate 24 for a four-match stay at the MT Blue Raider Bash, Friday and Saturday.
Austin Peay will begin its stay at Middle Tennessee with a noon, Friday contest against Florida International at Alumni Memorial Gym. The Lady Govs then will meet Missouri in a 5:00pm contest at the Murphy Center. Saturday’s action is entirely at Alumni Memorial Gym, beginning with a noon contest against Auburn before APSU wraps up its trip with a 4:30pm outing against East Tennessee.
Senior libero Paige Economos was named to the Bama Bash all-tournament team after posting 61 digs in 11 sets (5.55 digs per set). She recorded 25 digs in the Lady Govs four-set loss to Texas State and had 22 digs in APSU’s four-set loss to host Alabama.
“Paige was phenomenal last weekend,” said Lady Govs head coach Bill Egbert. “I believe she was the best libero in the Alabama tournament, she’s certainly our leader on the court. She is the spark that gets us going.”
The Lady Govs offense had its troubles during the opening weekend, averaging just 11.73 kills per set and posting a meager .178 attack percentage. Junior outside hitter Nikki Doyle was a bright spot with 39 kills (3.55 kills per set), but managed just a .198 attack percentage.
“Our offensive was inconsistent last weekend,” Egbert said. “However, I was pleased with how balanced we were offensively. We did a good job of moving the offense through different players in each of the matches last weekend. The more we do that, the better off we will be when we get to conference play.”
Each of the four teams the Lady Govs will face at the MT Blue Raider Bash enters the tournament with winning marks. Missouri will prove to be particularly formidable after not losing a set in its first four matches and is receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll.
The other three teams Austin Peay will face had good starts to their 2011 seasons. Florida International won its first two matches before falling to nationally-ranked California. Auburn split a pair of matches against Atlantic Coast Conference foes – falling to North Carolina before downing Boston College – on its opening weekend before picking up a midweek win against Alabama A&M. East Tennessee also dropped its season opener against Evansville before notching three straight wins at the UNC Greenboro tournament.
“This weekend will be a tough test for our team,” said Egbert. “We will face some strong teams that will challenge us in different ways. I believe we have to go out and work on doing what we do best and make an effort to get better each time out.”
Key Notables From Bama Bash
Junior outside hitter Nikki Doyle posted double-digit kills in each of the Lady Govs three matches at the Hampton Inn Bama Bash. After a slow start against host Alabama (10 kills, .087 pct), she bounced back with a 13-kill, .407-attack-percentage effort against Alabama State. Doyle wrapped up her weekend with 16 kills (.186 pct) against Texas State.
Eight different Austin Peay hitters recorded a kill during the Bama Bash. Joining Doyle with double-digit kill performances were senior outside hitter Ilyanna Hernandez (12 kills vs. Alabama and 10 kills vs. Texas State) and senior outside hitter Kayla Grantham (11 kills vs. Alabama State).
Freshman setter Cami Fields got her career off to a good start, handing out 101 assists (9.18 aps) at the Bama Bash while also posting seven kills and a .375 attack percentage.
The Lady Govs middle blocker corps got off to a rough start, amassing just 23 kills and 11 blocks. Sophomore Lauren Henderson finished the weekend with 14 kills (1.27 kps) and seven blocks (0.64 bps).
Next Up: Butler Invitational
Austin Peay continues its pre-conference work when it travels to the Butler Invitational, September 9th-10th. The Lady Govs will meet Central Michigan, host Butler and Elon in the two-day tournament.
