THE LEAD
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – A closely-fought match slipped through the Austin Peay State University volleyball team's grasp in a five-set (25-23, 24-26, 25-18, 16-25, 13-15) loss to Jacksonville State, Saturday night, at Pete Mathews Coliseum.

WHO GOVERNED
Kelly Ferguson finished with 11 kills and seven blocks (five solo) to pace Austin Peay's offense with 17 points scored.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Austin Peay and Jacksonville State split the first two sets, both see-saw battles. APSU won the first set which featured six ties and four lead changes while JSU won the second set in overtime after 11 ties and three lead changes.

The third and fourth sets were more straightforward with Austin Peay winning the third and Jacksonville State the fourth in wire-to-wire fashion.   

The fifth set featured only one lead change, but it came in the closing moments when Jacksonville State scored the final four points to turn a 13-11 deficit into a 15-13 match-clinching victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Samantha Strother posted her team-leading fifth double-double with a 14-kill, 19-dig performance.

Freshman Cecily Gable came off the bench to add 14 kills, tying her career-best set Sept. 1 against Evansville.

Ferguson continued her reign at the net with another seven-block performance – her third this season. It was her ninth consecutive match started and she has 35 blocks in those 36 sets (0.97 blocks per set).

THE FULL RECAP
Austin Peay (6-21, 1-11 OVC) will look back and wonder how the fifth set got away. The Lady Govs held a three-point, 8-5, advantage as the teams changed sides of the court. Jacksonville State cut the deficit to one point, 9-8, thanks to back-to-back points but could not tie the set.

Instead the teams traded the next seven points, leaving Austin Peay holding a 13-11 lead after a Samantha Strother kill. But that was the last point APSU would score. Jacksonville State closed the match with a 4-0 run: a Charis Ludtke kill, an APSU attack error, a Mackenzie Rombach block and a Ludtke service ace.

The Lady Govs and Jacksonville State split the first four sets, each winning in a different fashion. The Lady Govs won a see-saw first set by using a 7-3 run to build a 22-18 advantage then fending off a late JSU charge to win 25-23. Austin Peay's third set win saw it use an 11-3 run to break the set open, 13-5, and never look back in a 25-18 victory.

Jacksonville State (13-18, 3-9 OVC) won the second set in overtime as Austin Peay fended off a set-point opportunity at 24-23 thanks to a Strother kill. Austin Peay could not string together consecutive points but JSU could thanks to an Allyson Zuhlke kill and a Ludtke block to win, 26-24.

Trailing 2-1 in the match, the Gamecocks then threatened to run away with the fourth set. Jacksonville State scored six straight points to open up a 14-6 advantage. The JSU lead would reach 11 points, 20-9, before Austin Peay closed back to within seven points, 22-14. That was as close as the Lady Govs would get with JSU winning 25-16 to force the fifth set.

Strother and Cecily Gable led Austin Peay with 14 kills each. Strother added 19 digs for her team-leading fifth double-double. Kelly Ferguson added 11 kills and seven blocks.

Zuhlke led Jacksonville State with a match-best 23 kills at a .340 attack percentage. Emily Rutherford and Rombach each added 11 kills.

Austin Peay closes out its five-match road trip with a 6 p.m., Tuesday nonconference tilt at Alabama A&M. The Lady Govs then return home to start a regular-season ending four-match homestand with a 7 p.m., Friday OVC contest against Southeast Missouri.