Martin, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) volleyball team wraps up the regular-season portion of its spring 2021 volleyball schedule when it travels to UT Martin for a doubleheader, beginning with a noon contest and concluding with a 6:00pm match, Monday, at Skyhawk Arena.
The Governors have some control over their own destiny for the fourth and final spot in next weekend’s Ohio Valley Conference volleyball championship.
If they better SIU Edwardsville’s match results this weekend, they claim the spot on their own. Equal SIUE’s match and set results and it is down to the league’s tiebreaker formula to decide the spot.
Austin Peay State University will look to earn the spot on their own as they return from an impromptu break that saw last weekend’s series against SIUE canceled. So the age-old question of rest or rust will have to be answered as the APSU Govs return to the court two weeks after their last action.
UT Martin was eliminated from the OVC tournament race last weekend by league co-leader Jacksonville State. After starting the spring with a 5-1 record, UTM has lost its last eight including its last six against three of the top four teams in the league.
First Swings
Outside hitter Chloe Stitt tied an OVC single-match high with her 26-kill effort against Murray State. She enters the final weekend ranked fifth among OVC hitters at 3.66 kills per set.
Outside hitter Brooke Moore, a Preseason All-OVC selection, posted her eight double-digit kill outing at Southeast Missouri, ending a rare three-match streak where she scored only single-digit kills. Last season, she became the 8th Austin Peay State University player to surpass both 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs during their career.
Middle blocker Claire Darland set a program record with a .846 attack percentage (11-0-13) in the EIU opener, Feb. 28. She enters the final series ranked 10th among OVC hitters with a .304 attack percentage.
Middle blocker Karli Graham finished the Murray State series with 16 kills (2.29/set), a .424 attack percentage, and 11 blocks (1.57/set). She ranks 8th in the OVC with 0.91 blocks per set this season.
The APSU Govs setter tandem of Caroline Waite and Kelsey Mead. has marshaled the Govs to a .230 team attack percentage this season. Mead leads the duo with 6.37 assists per set and has 14 service aces (0.34/set). Waite is averaging 4.49 assists per set and has 82 digs (2.00/set).
After three seasons as an Austin Peay State University understudy, senior Nina Korfhage took over as the lead libero this spring. She has posted 20 digs in a match-three times this season, including a career-best 27 digs against Murray State, Monday. Korfhage is currently No. 7 on the OVC’s digs list with 4.20 digs per set.
Outside hitter Taylor McInerney made a splash at Eastern Illinois, opening the series with a career-best 16 kills. One week later, she broke through again against Murray State with 14 kills and a .609 attack percentage in the series finale.
Outside hitter Kaylah Jackson made her first extended appearances of the year against Murray State and provided an offensive boost with 15 kills (2.5/set) in the series and a .294 attack percentage.
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