MEMPHIS - Austin Peay State University's volleyball team struggled offensively and dropped a pair of three-set matches, Saturday, at the Memphis Invitational. The Lady Govs fell to Eastern Michigan (24-26, 18-25, 18-25) and Southern Illinois (14-25, 16-25, 21-25) to conclude their opening-weekend road trip.

"Entering this weekend we were concerned with our passing and defense," said Lady Govs head coach Taylor Mott. "Today those two key parts of the game were our biggest weakness. When you can't pass and play defense your offense has little chance of running its system. We will work on it in practice and continue to try and get better each day."

Austin Peay (1-3) opened the day with impressive starts in its first two sets against Eastern Michigan. However, the Lady Govs were unable to maintain that lead in either set as the Eagles mounted furious charges to gain the lead each time.

 The Lady Govs 10-4 in the opening set but the Eagles slowly reeled them back and used a six-point run later in the set to take a 20-18 advantage. Austin Peay would force overtime, but Eastern Michigan scored back-to-back points to win the set, 26-24.

The Lady Govs again jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second set but surrendered a 12-4 run as Eastern Michigan grabbed a 13-9 lead and would not look back.

The third set was more closely fought with 15 ties and five lead changes. Eastern Michigan (3-0) seized control with a 7-0 run to take a 23-16 lead en route to the set victory to secure the match.

Freshman outside hitter Samantha Strother led the Lady Govs with 10 kills. Junior middle blocker Lauren Henderson added eight kills. Austin Peay's offense could not get on track, recording only 43 kills in the three-set affair.

Rachel Iaquaniello led Eastern Michigan with 13 kills. The Eagles posted 48 kills in the win while registering a .300 attack percentage.

Austin Peay ran into a hot-hitting Southern Illinois squad in its final tournament match. The Lady Govs only led briefly in the first set as the Salukis controlled the match.

The Lady Govs recorded only 30 kills in the three-set loss and were held to a .162 attack percentage. Sophomore Jada Stotts led the offense with six kills.

Southern Illinois (2-1) had no such offensive woes and finished the match with 56 kills and a .389 attack percentage. Laura Thole scored 19 kills and posted an impressive .567 attack percentage.

Austin Peay returns to action when it travels to Western Kentucky for a 7 p.m., Tuesday contest.