CLARKSVILLE – After a season-opening month-long road trip, Austin Peay State University's volleyball team opened the home portion of its schedule with a gutsy five-set Ohio Valley Conference victory (22-25, 25-12, 22-25, 25-17, 15-13) against rival Murray State, Tuesday night, at the Dunn Center.

Austin Peay (5-13, 2-1 OVC) showed off a balanced offensive attack in its home debut, with four players recording 15-plus kills. Yet it was inconsistency within the match that kept the Lady Govs from pressing what turned into a sizable 77-58 advantage in kills.

Murray State (11-6, 1-2 OVC) controlled the flow of play in the opening set, breaking out to a 9-5 lead after a kill by Sam Bedard. Austin Peay would close within point, 11-10, after a Calyn Hull kill, but would get no closer. The Racers pushed out to five-point 18-13 lead and were not threatened the set's remainder, winning 25-22.

The Lady Govs turned the table in the second set, marching out to the 9-5 lead. However, they did not allow the Racers to close the gap, APSU using a 7-0 run to build a 21-7 lead later in the set en route to the 25-12 lead. Austin Peay committed just one error in the second frame and posted a .414 attack percentage while forcing Murray State to commit 11 attack errors and post a negative-.050 attack percentage.

The third set was the most competitive of the match with six ties and three lead changes. Austin Peay led 3-1 only to see Murray State rally back to gain a 13-9 advantage. The Lady Govs battled back and briefly regained the lead at 17-16 after a Hull kill, but could not press its advantage. The Racers scored three-straight points to retake the lead and held off APSU for the 25-22 win.

Austin Peay again leveled the match with a dominating fourth set win. The Lady Govs opened up a 3-1 lead and pushed its advantage to 14-6 to force a second Murray State timeout. The timeout did not break APSU's momentum as they pushed the lead to 22-13 thanks to a 4-0 run on Lauren Henderson's serve. The Lady Govs did not look back, finishing the set with a Henderson block to win 25-17.

The Lady Govs looked poised to run away and hide in the fifth set, holding an 8-3 lead at the changeover. But Murray State reeled the score back in and tied the set 13-13 thanks to a 5-0 run that forced an Austin Peay timeout. Liz Landon halted the Murray State run with a kill and ended the match with another kill for the 15-13 win.

Jada Stotts and Hull each had 16 kills to lead Austin Peay. Landon and Sammie Ebright each had 15 kills – a career best for both players. Austin Peay finished with 77 kills and a .341 attack percentage – both season bests.

Scott Ingram led Murray State with 18 kills. Alyssa Lelm added 17 kills and Taylor Olden chipped in 14 kills. Murray State finished with 58 kills but was held to a .198 attack percentage.

Austin Peay continues its brief two-match homestand with a 2 p.m., Saturday contest against Eastern Kentucky.

Postgame Rapid Reaction: Head Coach Taylor Mott