Austin Peay Lady Govs Volleyball heads to Murfreesboro to take on the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Tuesday

APSU Sports: Austin Peay Volleyball

Murfreesboro, TN – Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team will end its season-opening 15-match road trip with a 7:00pm, Tuesday contest against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Alumni Memorial Gymnasium.

Austin Peay (5-9) made a great leap forward at last weekend’s Bama Bash, finishing second in the five-team field with wins against East Tennessee, Lamar and Alabama State and a four-set loss to host Alabama. In addition to winning all-tournament honors at the Bama Bash, sophomore outside hitter Jada Stotts and sophomore setter Cami Fields were named the adidas OVC Offensive Player and Setter of the Week, respectively.

Stotts continued her recent hot streak, recording a team-best 57 kills in the tournament while posting a .347 attack percentage. She saved her most impressive performance for host Alabama, recording a career-high 27 kills. It was only the 11th time an Austin Peay player recorded 27 or more kills in a match.

Fields also had an impressive weekend, recording 140 assists (10.77 assists per set) and leading the Lady Govs to an impressive .312 team attack percentage during the tourney. She has four of the Ohio Valley Conference’s eight 50-assist outings this season, including a 52-assist outing against Alabama last weekend.

“I want us to maintain the momentum we built this weekend at Alabama,” said Lady Govs head coach Taylor Mott. “I believe we made a huge stride as a team this weekend. Cami’s performance was the highlight; she made good decisions all weekend and got our offense into a rhythm.”

Middle Tennessee (3-8) brings a five-match losing streak into Tuesday’s contest. The Blue Raiders spent last weekend at the Carolina Volleyball Classic where they dropped matches to Western Michigan, LSU and North Carolina. Middle Tennessee is a young squad with eight true freshmen dotting the roster, including both of its setters.

Freshman outside hitter Chelsea Ross has led Middle Tennessee in the season’s opening weeks with 166 kills (3.95 kills per set). Senior outside hitter Ashley Adams was named to the Carolina Classic all-tournament team after recording 34 kills (3.78 kills per set) during the tournament. She is second on the team with 132 kills (3.57 kills per set) and leads the team with a .226 attack percentage.

Tuesday’s meeting will be the first between Austin Peay and Middle Tennessee since 2005. The one-time OVC foes have met 52 times previously and the Lady Govs own a 34-18 lead in the all-time series. The Blue Raiders have won the last four meetings in the series, with Austin Peay’s last victory coming during the 2001 season.