THE LEAD
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University's volleyball team could not shake off the rust of a seven-hour gap between matches and dropped a three-set affair (18-25, 17-25, 14-25) to host Chattanooga, Saturday night, in the final match of the Scenic City Showdown at Maclellan Gym.

WHO GOVERNED
Senior outside hitter Samantha Strother nearly had a second-straight double-double with a nine kill, 11 dig performance, leading Austin Peay in both categories against Chattanooga.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Chattanooga controlled the run of play in all three sets. Austin Peay was able to trade points early in the first set before the Mocs got away. In the second set, the Lady Govs rallied to tie the set early on but could not maintain contact with Chattanooga. UTC closed the match with a wire-to-wire victory in the third set.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Austin Peay concludes its seven-match road trip with a 4-3 record, posting 2-1 marks at both the Scenic City Showdown and last weekend's Blazer Invitational.

Sophomore Ashley Slay had eight kills and a team-leading three block assists and accounted for 9.5 of Austin Peay's 38 points scored.

Freshman Kaylee Taff had seven kills and a team-best .357 attack percentage.

SCENIC CITY WRAP UP
With its 2-1 record Austin Peay finished second at the Scenic City Showdown behind host Chattanooga, which posted a 3-0 record. It is the second straight weekend Austin Peay has finished second in a tournament.

Freshmen Kristen Stucker and Kaylee Taff were named to the all-tournament team. Stucker led Austin Peay with 100 assists (11.11 per set) and added nine blocks (1.00 per set). Taff finished with 28 kills (3.56 per set) and led the team with a .356 attack percentage and 11 blocks (1.00 per set).

THE QUOTABLE TAYLOR MOTT
"We lacked energy and focus against Chattanooga. It wasn't going to be easy to jump into action after a long layoff after our first match. We made some progress this weekend, but we still have some progress to make. I'm proud Kristen and Kaylee received all-tourney recognition, they both stepped up this weekend."

THE FULL RECAP
Austin Peay (4-7) returned to Maclellan Gym over seven hours after wrapping up its first-ever victory against UAB and could not get on track early. After trading the opening six points, Chattanooga pieced together a four-point run to build a 7-3 lead. The Mocs slowly eased away from Austin Peay the rest of the set, ultimately claiming a 25-18 win.

Chattanooga (7-2) tried to break away early in the second set, racing out to a 6-2 lead. But the Lady Govs rallied back to take its only lead after a sophomore Ashley Slay's kill for an 8-7 advantage. The Mocs responded with a 6-2 run to grab a 13-10 lead and again slowly built that advantage into a 25-17 set win.

The Mocs left little question in the final set, grabbing an 8-4 lead and never looking back. Austin Peay would battle at the end, fending off three set points, but Chattanooga's Emily Plumlee ended the match with a kill for a 25-14 victory.

Senior outside hitter Samantha Strother nearly posted her second straight double-double, leading Austin Peay in both kills (nine) and digs (11). Austin Peay was held to 35 kills and a .143 attack percentage.

Allie Davenport led Chattanooga and all hitters with 13 kills while posting a .500 attack percentage. The Mocs offense posted 47 kills at an efficient .415 attack percentage.

Austin Peay returns home for a 7 p.m., Wednesday contest against North Dakota before starting another seven-match road trip.