APSU Sports: Women’s Volleyball
Murfreesboro, TN – Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team got off to a good start against Auburn, but lost in four sets (25-19, 17-25, 22-25, 19-25), Saturday afternoon at Alumni Memorial Gym.
Austin Peay (1-5) won the match’s opening set – ending a seven set losing streak. The Lady Govs scored six consecutive points to turn a 7-5 deficit into an 11-7 lead. Austin Peay would extend its lead to eight points, 22-14, and would not look back.
Following the break, Austin Peay again raced out to an early 4-1 lead. They would nurse that lead until committing back-to-back errors to tie the set, 13-13. Auburn and APSU would trade points until the Tigers scored three straight kills to take a 21-19 lead, which they would hold on to.
Auburn left little doubt in the fourth set, leading wire-to-wire. Austin Peay would stay within two points in the first half of the set, but watched the Tigers use a 6-3 run to build a 15-9 lead. Austin Peay would not get closer than five points the rest of the way.
Senior outside hitter Kayla Grantham led Austin Peay with 13 kills and a .333 attack percentage. Junior Nikki Doyle chipped in 12 kills. Junior middle blocker Lauren Henderson added eight kills and five blocks while freshman middle blocker Hillary Plybon added nine kills and two blocks.
“Lauren and Hillary probably played their best match this season against Auburn,” said Lady Govs head coach Bill Egbert. “I see us making progress each time we take the court. If we play our conference opponents the way we’ve played in our last two matches, I certainly like our chances.”
Zapryanova and Jersonsky each had 12 kills to lead Auburn.
Austin Peay returns to action with a 4:30pm contest against East Tennessee.
