APSU Sports Information
Cape Girardeau, MO – Sophomore Brooke Moore posted 11 kills and 12 digs to lead Austin Peay State University’s (APSU) volleyball team to an Ohio Valley Conference opening sweep of Southeast Missouri (25-20, 25-22, 26-24), Friday night at Houck Field House.
Austin Peay (11-2, 1-0 OVC) won the first two sets by gaining a lead midway through each set.
It was a 7-1 Governors run in the first set that gave them a 13-7 lead they would hold to claim the opening frame.
Austin Peay then used a 6-1 run to build an early 14-11 lead but they had to fend off a Redhawks run that tied the set, 19-19. The APSU Govs closed by scoring six of the final eight points to win the set. .
Southeast Missouri (8-6, 0-1 OVC) did not go down without a fight, scoring the first five points of the third set. Austin Peay would battle back to tie the set at 21-21 only to watch the Redhawks score three of the next four points to get to set point at 24-22.
But the Govs got a kill from Jenna Panning, a pair of SEMO errors and then a Kristen Stucker kill to come all the way back to win the set and the match.
The Governors saw five different players record 10 or more digs in the match with junior Ginny Gerig posting a team-best 23 digs – 10 of those coming in the first set. That effort, along with seven blocks, helped Austin Peay hold the Redhawks to a .159 attack percentage.
Moore was responsible for 16 points in the win, adding four service aces and a block to her season’s fourth double-double performance. Junior Cecily Gable added 10 kills and 11 digs for her fourth double-double performance.
Laney Malloy and Haley Bilbruck each had 11 kills to lead Southeast Missouri’s offense.
Austin Peay closes out its OVC-opening road trip with an 11:00am, Saturday contest against UT Martin.
The Skyhawks stunned OVC preseason favorite Murray State in five sets during Friday’s action.
Set-By-Set
Early back-and-forth action – there were six times and a lead change in the opening 12 points – turned in the Governors direction thanks to a 7-1 run that saw three different Govs supply points along with a trio of SEMO attack errors.
Austin Peay would nurse the resulting 13-7 lead to the finish line, fending off an 8-3 Redhawks run late on the way.
SET 2, Govs Win 25-22
Austin Peay broke out to an early 3-0 lead in the second only to watch Southeast Missouri battle back to tie the frame at 4-4. The Govs would build a larger four-point lead at 17-13, but again the Redhawks leveled the set at 19-19.
APSU would score consecutive points to gain the upper hand again and made it stick, Kristen Stucker and Brooke Moore supplying another pair of consecutive points to clinch the win.
SET 3, Govs Win 26-24
It was all Southeast Missouri early as the hosts opened the third with five straight points. Austin Peay could not close the gap until late in the third, so late that the Redhawks held a 24-22 lead.
But the Governors roared back with a kill by Jenna Panning before the Redhawks surrendered the lead by committing back-to-back errors. Stucker closed the match with a well-timed tip over the net to seal that match.
APSU Govs, Notably
Moore Than A Feeling
Moore continued her solid play of the last two weeks, following up her first OVC Offensive Player of the Week effort by leading Austin Peay with 16 points at Southeast Missouri. She had 11 kills, four service aces and a block in the outing.
Peace Of Mind
Sometimes a solid defensive effort has to carry the day and Austin Peay certainly had that Friday night.
The 76-dig outing was the Govs third-best effort of the season and far-and-away their best in a three-set match (62 vs. Western Michigan the previous best).
Gerig sparked the initiative with 10 digs in the opening set and finished with a team-best 23 digs.
The Launch
Austin Peay won its OVC opener for the third consecutive year and fourth time under head coach Taylor Mott.
We Think We Like It
The Governors won their sixth-straight match against Southeast Missouri. It is Austin Peay’s longest win streak against the Redhawks since a seven-match win streak from 2008-10.
