CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. ? Austin Peay State University's volleyball team challenged visiting Morehead State early, but could not maintain its momentum falling, 3-0 (35-33, 30-21, 30-23), in Ohio Valley Conference action, Friday night.

Austin Peay fell to 7-18 overall and 2-11 in conference play, posting its eight-straight loss. Morehead State improved to 15-8 overall and 9-3 in conference action.

Austin Peay had a golden opportunity to grab a game in the match's opening game. With the score tied, 13-13, Austin Peay grabbed the lead with three straight points. They would maintain that lead and eventually held game point at 29-26. However, Morehead State's Kelly Cronin posted a kill to ward off the first game point. The Lady Govs were then their own worst enemy as they committed three consecutive errors to hand Morehead State its first game-point opportunity at 30-29. Austin Peay would stave off four game-point opportunities before MSU's Ashley Doscher ended the game with back-to-back kills.

The second game was a close with the two teams battling through five ties, the last coming at 9-9. From there, Morehead State scored six of the next eight points to take a 15-11 lead. The Eagles put the second game away with six consecutive points to take a 26-18 lead which they would not relinquish.

Following the break, Morehead State broke open the third game with an 8-2 scoring run to take a 16-7 lead. Austin Peay rallied briefly, closing the lead to six points, 21-15, but could get no closer.

“We continue to make too many errors,” said Lady Govs head coach Jenny Hazelwood. “In particular, our errors seem to crop up in critical situations when we're in the closing moments of a game. We're going to continue plugging away at the problem and try some different lineups to find players who want to compete.”

Senior Dodi Szymska led Austin Peay with 13 kills, but also had seven errors for a .194 attack percentage. Sophomore Kirstin Distler added 12 kills while posting a .242 attack percentage. Austin Peay's offense recorded only 47 kills and committed 25 errors.

Doscher led all hitters with 15 kills and Kelsey Cronin chipped in 14 kills. Erin Peak added 12 kills while posting a team-best .476 attack percentage. The Eagles offense pounded out 60 kills in the three-game match and committed only 14 errors for an impressive .322 attack percentage.

Austin Peay returns to action with a 2 p.m., Saturday contest, against Eastern Kentucky. The Lady Govs four seniors: Kristen Kirch, Leanne Kreps, Lisa Nedow and Szymska, will be recognized prior the match's start.

- AP -