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HomeSportsAPSU Volleyball splits Matches at UT Martin to end season

APSU Volleyball splits Matches at UT Martin to end season

APSU Women's VolleyballMartin, TN – A hard-fought final day of the regular-season saw Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team split a pair of matches against UT Martin, Monday, at Skyhawk Arena.

Austin Peay State University won the day’s first match in three sets (28-26, 25-22, 25-22) but UT Martin recovered to claim the nightcap in five sets (22-25, 28-26, 14-25, 25-19, 17-19).

Austin Peay State University Volleyball ends season beating UT Martin in the first match then losing in the nightcap. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay State University Volleyball ends season beating UT Martin in the first match then losing in the nightcap. (APSU Sports Information)

With the split, the APSU spring 2021 season concludes as they finish fifth in the regular-season race and do not qualify for the four-team OVC Volleyball Championship.

Austin Peay (9-5 OVC), returning to action for the first time in nearly two weeks, got out to a slow start in the day’s opening set. After 15 ties and five lead changes, the Govs got back-to-back kills from middle blocker Karli Graham and outside hitter Brooke Moore to clinch the frame.

The Governors won the second set in wire-to-wire fashion. UT Martin raced out to an early 4-1 lead in the third and fended off an Austin Peay State University charge to maintain an 18-15 lead late.  

Austin Peay State University charged back with a 4-1 run to tie the set at 19-19. One last tie at 20-20 was broken as part of a 4-0 run with outside hitter Tegan Seyring providing a pair of kills. Middle blocker Aysha Hood then provided a block to end the match.

The nightcap proved an even more nip-and-tuck affair with UT Martin (5-11) claiming the first and third sets. Austin Peay State University countered by winning Set 2 in overtime before winning the fourth set to force the tiebreaker.

That tiebreaker went back and forth with neither team enjoying more than a two-point lead until UTM’s Jessica Reynolds’ kill gave the Skyhawks an 8-5 lead at the first stoppage. The Skyhawks lead hit four points at 13-10 after a Govs attack error and UTM reached match point at 14-12.

Yet Austin Peay State University wasn’t done battling and fended off a pair of match points as part of a 3-0 run to get to its own match point at 15-14. The APSU Govs had match points at 16-15 and 17-16 but couldn’t close the match. UTM would close the match with a 3-0 run with kills from Karen Scanlon and Logan Wallick before a walk-off service ace by Baillie Kearns.

 

 

Seyring led the APSU Govs in the first match with 15 kills and a .583 attack percentage then added a 16-kill effort in the second match. Moore posted back-to-back double-doubles – a 14-kill, 13-dig effort in Match 1 and a 13-kill, 21-dig performance in Match 2nd. Outside hitter Chloe Stitt finished the season with 20 kills and 13 digs in the second match.

UTM’s Karen Scanlon had the team’s only double-digit kill effort in the opener with 12 kills. Her 18 kills in the night cap led an offensive effort that saw four Skyhawks post double-digit totals.

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