Birmingham, AL – Elizabeth Wheat set career highs in kills and digs, leading the Austin Peay State University (APSU) volleyball team to a five-set victory (20-25, 25-21, 26-24, 18-25, 15-10) against host UAB Saturday at the Blazer Invitational.
UAB’s offense controlled the first two sets, each in a completely different fashion. The Blazers opened with 16 kills and a .323 attack percentage. Still, the Blazers trailed 15-13 in the set before closing with an impressive 12-5 run to win the frame.
After that impressive showing in the opening set, the UAB offense could not find any rhythm in the second set. Austin Peay (2-1) won the set with just seven kills while gaining points on five blocks and playing scrappy back-row defense that helped force UAB into 11 attack errors.
The third set turned into a barn-burner, with both team’s offenses hammering away. Each team scored 18 kills in the third set, Austin Peay State University’s best performance of the match, hitting a .268 attack percentage, while UAB scored 18 kills at a .224 clip.
UAB fought back from a four-point deficit at 14-18 and tied the set at 21-21, 22-22, 23-23, and 24-24 but could not take the lead. After the Blazers tied the set for the final time, Peyton Deidesheimer provided a kill, and Kalliann Cook followed with a service ace to win the set, 26-24.
UAB’s offense continued firing away in the third set, scoring another 18-kill performance. The APSU Govs kept the match close through the midway point, forcing the 11th and final tie of the set at 14-14. The Blazers closed the set with an 11-4 run to win the frame 25-18 and force a fifth set.
Austin Peay State University quickly broke the fifth set open by scoring six consecutive points to build a 7-3 advantage. All UAB could do from there is trade two-point rallies with APSU. The Blazers would close within a point at 11-10 but committed an error and gave the serve back to the Govs, and they closed with a service ace and a block as part of the 4-0 match-closing run.
Wheat’s 16-kill, 17-dig performance was her second career double-double performance and set her career highs in each category while also providing three blocks. Karli Graham and Maggie Keenan each supplied five blocks to pace the APSU Govs 10-block outing. Cook, who had two service aces, led the Govs back-row defense with 20 digs.
UAB’s Asli Celikkol led all hitters with 21 kills and 14 blocks. But UAB proved its own worst enemy with 55 different errors in the match, including 31 attack errors, 11 service errors, and seven reception errors.
Next Up For APSU Volleyball
The Austin Peay State University volleyball team now looks ahead to its second road trip, Friday-Saturday, at the Lindenwood Invitational in St. Charles, Missouri.
