NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? It was a crazy night around the Ohio Valley Conference and Austin Peay State University's volleyball team fell victim to the craziness, falling 3-1 (22-25, 19-25, 25-19, 16-25) at Tennessee State, Friday night.

Austin Peay lost for the fourth time in its last five matches and dropped to 18-10 overall and 10-6 in league play. Tennessee State kept its tournament hopes alive and improved to 8-15 overall and 6-9 in conference action.

The Lady Govs were their own worst enemy, committing 31 attack errors in the match, their most since committing 36 errors at Tulsa, Sept. 13. Austin Peay posted a .089 attack percentage, their second-lowest percentage this season.

Meanwhile, Tennessee State's offense had an impressive night with 56 kills and a .247 attack percentage, easily outpacing the APSU attack. The Lady Tigers added a 8-6 advantage in blocks, adding to the Lady Govs misery.

Individually, junior Kirstin Distler led Austin Peay with 12 kills and a .320 attack percentage. No other Lady Govs player reached double digit kill territory. Freshman Marie Mullins recorded 31 assists after taking over fulltime following the first set.

“We had a couple of players step up tonight and play well,” said Hazelwood. “Marie did a good job when we called on her to set full time tonight. Kirstin was unstoppable tonight when we were able to get her the ball. However, we can't have one or two players playing well and be successful. We're a team built around balance and we didn't have that tonight.”

Christian Lowe led Tennessee State with 14 kills while Shaquita Williams added 12 kills and a match-best .550 attack percentage. Both Lowe and Williams recorded five blocks. Candace Saleaumua chipped in 11 kills.

Looking at the conference race, the Lady Govs joined league-leading Tennessee Tech and second-place Morehead State on the losing side of matches, Friday, meaning APSU did not lose ground in the race for the league's top spot. However, both Murray State and Southeast Missouri picked up victories and each moved into a tie with Austin Peay for third place with three conference matches remaining.

Austin Peay returns to action when it makes its final regular-season roadtrip for a 7 p.m., Tuesday contest at Eastern Kentucky.