61.4 F
Clarksville
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeSportsAPSU Volleyball travels to Central Arkansas then hosts Jacksonville State this weekend

APSU Volleyball travels to Central Arkansas then hosts Jacksonville State this weekend

APSU Women's VolleyballClarksville, TN – The 2022 volleyball regular-season slate comes to an end this weekend as the Austin Peay State University (APSU) volleyball team looks ahead to a split weekend of ASUN Conference action.

First, the APSU Govs are on the road for a Friday 7:00pm match at Central Arkansas. Austin Peay State University returns home to end the regular season with a Sunday 1:00pm match against Jacksonville State in the Dunn Center.

Last weekend, the Govs claimed a split of their two matches. Austin Peay State University shocked then-second-place Kennesaw State in three sets. The Govs then fell to Jacksonville State in three sets. It was the third consecutive week APSU has split its weekend ASUN pair.
 
Mikayla Powell became the first Austin Peay State University hitter with consecutive 300-kill, .300-attack percentage seasons during the weekend, leading APSU with 19 kills (3.17 per set) and a .356 attack percentage last weekend.
 
Erin Eisenhart notched 30 digs (5.00 per set) during the weekend and needs another 30 digs this weekend to reach the 1,000-dig mark for her career.

Situation Reports

The race for the final spot in the ASUN Volleyball Championship enters its final weekend. Seven of the eight spots have been claimed with Stetson, Eastern Kentucky, and Austin Peay State University battling for the final spot.

APSU must win both its remaining matches and have EKU split its last two matches and have Stetson lose its two remaining matches to claim the eighth seed.

Through The Rotation

2022 APSU Volleyball - Tegan Seyring. (Robert Smith, APSU Sports Information)Right-side hitter Tegan Seyring has made her mark in ASUN action. She leads the APSU Govs with 168 kills (3.11 per set) and a .287 attack percentage in league matches. She has posted 11 of her 12 double-digit kill performances in league play, including her current streak of seven straight.

After opening the season with eight double-digit kill performances in 11 matches, right-side hitter Mikayla Powell posted just one double-digit outing in the first six ASUN matches. However, she has averaged 3.35 kills per set at a .360 clip in her last eight matches, which includes seven double-digit outings.

2022 APSU Volleyball - Kelsey Mead. (Robert Smith, APSU Sports Information)Kelsey Mead and Janvier Buggs have teamed up at setter this season, the fourth-consecutive year the Govs have used a setting tandem. Mead has a team-best 6.21 assists and 2.27 digs per set while Buggs has 4.12 assists per set and 26 kills (0.29 per set).

Buggs leads APSU with 28 service aces (0.31 per set), with Mead (26 aces, 0.27 set), libero Erin Eisenhart (27, 0.28), and Marlayna Bullington (20, 0.24) also serving up 20-plus aces this season.

2022 APSU Volleyball - Jaida Clark. (Robert Smith, APSU Sports Information)Middle blocker Jaida Clark ranks third among the Govs’ hitters with 208 kills (2.14 per set).

She has double-digit kills in six of her last nine matches and has twice tied her career high of 14 kills during the stretch – first against Lipscomb (October 14th) and then again against Central Arkansas (October 22nd).

Erin Eisenhart has picked up where she left off last season, averaging 4.45 digs per set. She is just outside the Govs’ single-season top 10 in digs per set, with the No. 10 spot held by April Adams’ 4.46 digs per set in 2015.

2022 APSU Volleyball - Mikayla Powell. (Robert Smith, APSU Sports Information)Mikayla Powell has posted eight of the APSU Govs’ top 12 kill performances this season, including a season-best 23 kills against North Dakota State.

Marlayna Bullington has two of the top 12, including 17 kills against Toledo. Tegan Seyring has the other two spots, with 17 kills twice this season.

Middle blocker Maggie Keenan led Austin Peay State University with 71 blocks (0.92 per set) with five outings of six-plus blocks prior to suffering an injury during the Govs’ home match against Lipscomb (Oct. 14).

Scouting The Weekend

Central Arkansas

Series Central Arkansas leads, 1-0.

Last Meeting: Austin Peay State University rolled to an opening-set victory but could not maintain its early momentum and dropped a four-set decision (25-15, 24-26, 25-18, 25-21) to Central Arkansas. Mikayla Powell led the APSUGovs with 16 kills. Jaida Clark added a career-high tying 14 kills at a .545 attack percentage and five blocks.

Quickly: The Sugar Bears win at Austin Peay State University, on October 22nd was the start of the four-match win streak that ended Sunday against ASUN-leader Liberty. That run helped UCA stay in the race for on of the league’s top four spots in next week’s ASUN volleyball championship.

W2W4: Setter Caylan Koons is the lone UCA player ranked among the ASUN’s top 10, averaging 8.88 assists per set. She has set an offense that features three hitters with 200-plus kills and two more that have passed the 100-kill mark. Koons also leads the ASUN with 27 aces  (0.47 per set) in league action.

Jacksonville State

Series: Jacksonville State leads, 17-16.

Last Meeting: Austin Peay State University dropped a three-set (17-25, 31-33, 22-25) match to Jacksonville State, on November 5th. Tegan Seyring recorded her seventh-straight double-digit kill outing with 13 kills, but the Govs were unable to best a JSU offense that had over a .365 hitting percentage in all three sets.

Quickly: The Gamecocks also are seeking a top-four seed entering the final weekend. Jacksonville State brings a three-match win streak into the weekend and hasn’t dropped a set during the streak.

W2W4: Katie Montgomery seeks to finish the season as the ASUN’s most efficient hitter, entering the weekend with an ASUN-leading .379 attack percentage that is 30 points better than the ASUN’s No. 2 hitter. She’s been the ASUN’s third most-efficient hitter in league play (.345) with teammate Sophie Riemersma pacing all hitters in ASUN action with a .367 attack percentage.

RELATED ARTICLES

Latest Articles