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HomeSportsAPSU Volleyball beats Jacksonville to win Dolphin Invitational

APSU Volleyball beats Jacksonville to win Dolphin Invitational

APSU Sports Information

APSU Women's VolleyballJacksonville, FL – Redshirt junior Christina White notched a 16-kill, 15-dig double-double to lead Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team to a four-set victory (25-21, 24-26, 25-20, 25-16) against host Jacksonville in Saturday’s action at UNF Arena.

Austin Peay Women's Volleyball extends win streak to four with victory over Jacksonville Saturday. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Women’s Volleyball extends win streak to four with victory over Jacksonville Saturday. (APSU Sports Information)

Austin Peay (11-2) powered through each of the sets it won, posing a .300 attack percentage or better in both the third and fourth sets. White and junior Kaylee Taff pushed the action in those final two sets, combining for 18 of the Govs 33 kills down the stretch.

White posted her season’s fifth double-double in the victory and earned all-tournament honors. Taff added 15 kills, tying her season’s best performance. Slay, who led the Govs in their first two matches of the tournament, posted 13 kills in the finale and was named the Jacksonville Classic’s Most Valuable Player.

Mallory Mattingly led Jacksonville (5-6) with a 19-kill, 11-dig performance. The Dolphins were held to 51 kills and a .203 attack percentage.

Set By Set

First
Neither team was able to build a comfortable advantage in the opening frame, battling through 11 ties and three lead changes. Jacksonville forced the last of the ties, 20-20, on an APSU service error. From there, the Govs closed with a 5-1 run punctuated by a White service ace that ended the set. Austin Peay’s 25-21 set win saw it post 16 kills and a .222 attack percentage.

Second
Likely the most unusual set of the season as the teams went to overtime despite each team leading large stretches – there were only two lead changes in the match. Adding to the peculiarity, Austin Peay posted six service aces in a set they ultimately lost. The Governors got to set point first on a Taff kill, 24-22, but could not close the deal. Jacksonville scored four consecutive kills, including back-to-back stoppers from Natalie Wehner to win the set in overtime, 26-24.

Third
Austin Peay used several multi-point bursts as part of a 9-3 run to build a 15-10 lead midway through the period. The Govs hit 20 points first after a Taff kill and exchanged three-point runs with the Dolphins to get the set to 23-20. From there Slay put down a kill to move APSU to set point and a JU attack error ended the set. The Govs won the frame thanks to a match-best 18 kills and a .300 attack percentage

Fourth
After a nip-and-tuck start, the Govs rattled off four straight points to take the first significant lead of the contest, 9-6. Austin Peay would extend the lead to six points after back-to-back kills from White and Taff and then nurse that advantage the rest of the way. The Govs capped the match with a 15-kill effort and match-best .306 attack percentage.

Govs Notably

Slay the MVP
It was an accolade-filled weekend for Slay, who notched her 1,000th career kill on the weekend. She capped her stay in Jacksonville by picking up the tournament’s MVP honor. It was well earned after her 45-kill weekend that saw her average 4.09 kills per set and post a .309 attack percentage.

White Washed
White also picked up all-tournament recognition at Jacksonville after finishing second on the team with 39 kills (3.55 per set) and a .227 attack percentage. She also tacked on 37 digs and a pair of double-doubles to round out her performance.

O’Reilly Comes Up Big
Taking up the role of libero for the entire weekend, senior Allie O’Reilly held down the fort, finishing with an impressive 55 digs (5.0 per set) and four aces to earn her own all-tournament recognition.

11-2
Austin Peay’s 11-2 start matches the launch by the 2010 OVC Tournament Championship squad. It equals the best 13-match start in program history.

Next Up for APSU Volleyball

Austin Peay now returns home to open Ohio Valley Conference play with a pair of matches next weekend. The Govs host SIU Edwardsville in a 7:00pm, Friday contest to kickoff league play before a 2:00pm, Saturday match against Eastern Illinois.

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