Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) volleyball team opens Ohio Valley Conference play and closes out its 16-match season-opening road trip with a pair of road matches this weekend.
The APSU Governors open league play with the Illinois swing, beginning with a 6:00pm, Friday contest at SIU Edwardsville followed by a noon, Saturday matchup at Eastern Illinois.
From The Serve
Junior Brooke Moore picked up her second all-tournament honor this season at Ball State. She posted a 29-kill, 22-dig outing against Missouri State, the first 20-20 performance by a Govs hitter since 2009. It was her second 20-kill outing this season.
Junior Chloe Stitt posted her first career 20-kill outing en route to earning Mizzou Invitational all-tournament honors. She led the Govs with 55 kills (3.67/set) and posted a .210 attack percentage during the tourney’s four 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, September 6th. She enters this weekend ranked seventh on the Govs career digs list (1,636 digs).
Junior setter Caroline Waite handed out a career-high 56 assists in the Govs five-set win against Missouri State. She has posted 20-plus assists in six of the Govs last nine matches.
Senior Jenna Panning has started to find her swing, with four double-digit kill outings in her last six matches. She is averaging 2.59 kills per set and hitting .218 over those six outings.
The APSU Govs victory against Texas Tech, September 7th, was their fourth win against a Power Five opponent during head coach Taylor Mott‘s tenure. It is the third consecutive year Austin Peay State University has downed a Power Five foe.
Austin Peay State University is playing its first 16 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 APSU 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 as it lost its top outside hitter, primary setter and top middle blocker to graduation.
Scanning the Field
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| SIUE 5-7 (0-0 OVC) Edwardsville, IL Roster Schedule Stats |
Eastern Illinois 1-11 (0-0 OVC) Charleston, IL Roster Schedule Stats |
| SIUE (5-7) brings a six-match losing streak into conference play.
That streak was extended by an 0-3 record at its own Cougar Classic last weekend with losses to Central Arkansas, Presbyterian and Purdue Fort Wayne. SIUE leads the league with 2.38 blocks per set after the season’s first four weekends with junior Annie Ellis averaging a team-best 1.12 blocks per set (4th in OVC). |
Eastern Illinois (1-11) snapped a season-opening 11-match losing streak by defeating Robert Morris to finish the Youngstown State tourney.
Senior Maggie Runge is one of three EIU hitters with 100 kills so far this season and her .303 attack percentage is fourth best among the league’s hitters. |
