Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) volleyball team sees its season-opening road trip take it to Mid-Missouri for the Mizzou Invitational, hosted by Missouri, Friday-Sunday, in Columbia, Missouri.
A matchup against host and No. 21 Missouri is first on the Governors itinerary slated for an 11:00am, Friday first serve.
Austin Peay State University then meets Boise State in a 5:00pm contest to close the opening day.
The four-match trip continues with a 10:00am, Saturday contest against Kansas City (formerly UMKC) before a 10:00am, Sunday match against Northern Iowa closes the Govs third weekend.
From the Serve
Austin Peay State University will face the the last of its six Power Five opponents when it faces No. 21 Missouri from the Southeastern Conference in the opening match of this weekend’s tournament.
The APSU Govs victory against Texas Tech, last Saturday, was their fourth win against a Power Five opponent during head coach Taylor Mott‘s tenure. It is the third consecutive year Austin Peay has downed a Power Five foe.
Junior Brooke Moore enjoyed the Govs trip to Northwestern last weekend, earning Under Armour All-Tournament Honors after leading the Govs with 44 kills (4.00/set) and a .238 attack percentage over three matches.
Senior Ginny Gerig Busse became the ninth Govs defender to reach the 1,500-dig plateau with her outing against Stephen F. Austin in Evanston, last Friday.
Senior Karli Graham also made the most of the Govs trip to Northwestern last weekend, posting 13 blocks (1.18/set) on the weekend. She notched a seven-block performance against Texas Tech to conclude the trip, Saturday.
Freshman Kelsey Mead continued her impressive start with 20-assist outings against both Northwestern (25) and Texas Tech (23) as the APSU Govs continued to utilize a 6-2 offensive scheme. Mead leads the Govs with 5.56 assists per set.
While Moore has four of the Govs top five offensive outings this season (by total kills), junior Chloe Stitt has joined her as one of the Govs top offensive threats with three of the team’s top 10 offensive outings.
APSU is playing its first 18 contests on the road, the longest road trip in program history. The Govs will cover a total of 4,656 miles before opening the home portion of their schedule, October 4th, against Southeast Missouri.
The Govs were picked to finish second in the OVC Preseason Predicted Order of Finish with a pair of Governors named to the 14-woman Preseason All-OVC team.
While Austin Peay State University is the back-to-back defending Ohio Valley Conference champion, it will have a largely new look in 2019 it lost its top outside hitter, primary setter and top middle blocker to graduation.
Scanning the Field
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| #21 Missouri 4-0 (0-0 SEC) Columbia, MO Roster Schedule Stats |
Boise State 4-2 (0-0 MWC) Boise, ID Roster Schedule Stats |
Kansas City 1-3 (0-0 WAC) Kansas City, MO Roster Schedule Stats |
Northern Iowa 2-5 (0-0 MVC) Cedar Falls, IA Roster Schedule Stats |
| Missouri (4-0) clinched the Dayton Invitational title last weekend, opening with a sweep of nationally-ranked Michigan.
The Tigers entered the AVCA Division I Coaches Poll at No. 21 this week. Outside hitter Kylie Deberg and setter Andrew Fuentes were recognized by the Southeastern Conference this week. Deberg produced 59 kills and an impressive .510 attack percentage in Dayton while Fuentes paced Missouri to a .434 team attack percentage and 14.3 kills per set. |
Boise State (4-2) swept the Thunderbird Classic hosted by Southern Utah last weekend.
The Broncos defeated Middle Tennessee in four sets to open the tourney then downed Saint Mary’s (Calif.) and host Southern Utah. Outside hitter Janell Walley was named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week after averaging 4.42 kills per set in Cedar City, Utah. |
Kansas City (1-3) picked up a win against Louisiana Tech at its own KC Roos Classic last weekend, falling to South Dakota and Tulsa.
Right-side hitter Melanie Brecka was named to the Roos Classic all-tournament team after averaging 2.82 kills per set and posting a .233 attack percentage. |
Northern Iowa (2-5) has four losses to teams in the Top 25, including Creighton, USC and Kentucky at its own tournament last weekend as well as Texas to open the season, August 30.
Outside hitter Karlie Taylor earned all-tourney honors at the Panthers home tourney thanks to a 29-kill performance against Creighton and 24 kills against USC. |
