APSU Volleyball falls in hard fought match to Morehead State in OVC Tournament

Cape Girardeau, MO – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) volleyball team saw its season come to an end in the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Championship, Friday, following a five-set (25-15, 30-32, 25-23, 23-25, 7-15) clash with Morehead State at Houck Field House.

Graduate student Brooke Moore posted her 62nd career double-double in a 17-kill, 18-dig performance that saw the Louisville native lead the Governors with 10 kills in the final two sets.

Junior right-side hitter Mikayla Powell tied her career-high with 18 kills against Morehead State, while setter Kelsey Mead matched her season-high with 37 assists in the match.

Defensively, middle blocker Maggie Keenan tied the fourth-most blocks in a five-set match with eight and finishes her sophomore campaign with 121 total blocks – tied for the third-most in a season in program history.

Austin Peay led early, following an errorless first set in which they outhit the Eagles .370 – .083 and capitalized on 10 MSU miscues.

After starting the match with a 25-15 victory, the Govs battled with the Eagles in a second set that featured seven lead changes and 21 ties.

The Govs led 15-13 at the second set’s media timeout and answered a 5-1 Morehead State run out of the break with four-straight points to bring up an MSU timeout. Following four more ties, Austin Peay State University brought up the first set-point after Maggie Keenan’s fifth kill. The Eagles answered with two-straight points and the teams traded the succeeding 12 scores before a kill by MSU’s Olivia Lohmeier and an attack error by the Govs tied the match at one set apiece.

Like the second set, the two teams traded scores throughout a third frame that featured five early lead changes. APSU led 21-20 following a 3-0 run and retook their lead following a 25-23 third-set victory in which four different players posted three or more kills.

Despite seven kills from Moore in the fourth set, APSU quickly saw a 21-18 advantage disappear following a 7-2 run by the Eagles to bring up the match-deciding fifth set. Morehead State controlled the momentum throughout the final set, winning 15-7 and holding APSU to a match-low .125 hitting percentage.

Austin Peay State University finishes its final season as a member of the OVC with a 14-6 record in conference play – the third-most under head coach Taylor Mott. 

The match also saw an end to the careers of Moore and Caroline Waite, who have been members of the program since the 2017 season, winning 98 matches and guiding the Govs to three OVC Championships during their five years in Clarksville.

Moore caps off her record-breaking indoor career as the all-time leader in kills (1597), sets played (543) and matches played (170). She also finishes top-10 in career service aces (5th, 139), digs (8th, 1609).

Waite has helped quarterback the Govs’ offense through her five years at Austin Peay and finishes her career 11th all-time in assists with 1,497.

Set-By-Set Austin Peay Against Morehead State 

1. The Governors led 12-6 in the first set following a 6-0 run and three blocks apiece by Tegan Seyring and Maggie Keenan. They extended their lead to 18-11, bringing up the Eagles’ final timeout, and cruised to a 25-15 victory that saw APSU outhit the Eagles .370 to .083.
2. Austin Peay State University jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second set and held the advantage until Morehead State took their first lead of the set at 8-7. The two teams battled back and forth heading into the media timeout where APSU lead 15-13, but Morehead State scored five of the next six points out of the break and led 18-16. The Govs scored four-straight points to halt the Eagles’ run and brought up the first set-point following back-to-back kills by Mikayla Powell and Maggie Keenan; however, Morehead State answered with a 3-1 run to retake the lead. After battling back and forth in an extended frame, the Eagles evened the score following a 32-30 victory.
3. Morehead State led 6-1 early in the third set, before Austin Peay State University tied the match an eight and later took a 12-10 lead after Kelsey Mead’s second service ace of the evening. The APSU Govs took a 15-14 lead into the media timeout, before a 6-3 Morehead State run forced head coach Taylor Mott to take her first timeout. Kayla Jackson cut the deficit to one out of the break, before an MSU attack error tied the set at 20. Austin Peay State University answered with three-straight points to take a 21-20 lead. After trading points, the Govs retook their lead after a Morehead State service, bringing up a set point and Eagles’ timeout. 
4. The Governors capitalized on five early errors by Morehead State and held a 14-9 advantage midway through the match’s penultimate set. However, after leading 21-18, Austin Peay State University saw its lead diminished after a 7-2 run by the Eagles, forcing the fifth set.
5. Back-to-back kills by Brooke Moore cut the Govs’ deficit to 3-2; however, Morehead State held an 8-5 advantage at the media timeout and 10-6 lead following an APSU timeout. Morehead State went on to finish the set on a 5-1 run, winning the set 15-7.

Box Score

Austin Peay 2, Morehead State 3

Austin Peay Stats

Morehead State Stats

Team Comparison