THE LEAD
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Austin Peay State University's volleyball team had few answers for a surging Southeast Missouri offense in a four-set Ohio Valley Conference loss (21-25, 13-25, 25-20, 19-25), Saturday afternoon at Houck Field House.
WHO GOVERNED
Sophomore Ashley Slay led Austin Peay with 14 kills and had a hand in all three of APSU's blocks. She had a team-best .333 attack percentage as she finished with just 27 attack attempts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The match started out in a back-and-forth first set with 10 ties and three lead changes. Southeast Missouri wrested control with a 4-0 run to take a 15-14 lead.
After Southeast Missouri gained a 2-0 set lead, the Lady Govs won a tight third set that featured 13 ties and six lead changes. Austin Peay trailed 19-18 but gained control with five straight points to claim their only set of the match. The Redhawks won the fourth set in wire-to-wire fashion to win the match.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Freshman Logan Carger followed up her nine-kill performance in the OVC opener at UT Martin with a nine-kill effort at Southeast Missouri.
Senior Samantha Strother returned to the starting lineup and finished with 13 kills and a .270 attack percentage.
It is Austin Peay's first 0-2 start to conference play under head coach Taylor Mott and since 2011, a year it also started with two road matches.
THE QUOTABLE MOTT
"We were better than last night (at UT Martin) but still not where we need to be. We struggled in serve receive and that made it tough to run our offense. We had some good runs, just not enough to win the match."
THE FULL RECAP
Austin Peay (5-12, 0-2 OVC) could only put the brakes on the Southeast Missouri offense in the third set. The Lady Govs held the Redhawks to nine kills and a .167 attack percentage. Meanwhile, Austin Peay posted a 14-kill effort with a match-best .229 attack percentage.
However, Southeast Missouri (5-10, 1-1 OVC) was held in check just the one set. The Redhawks recorded 14 or more kills in each of the three sets it won, posting a .286 or better attack percentage each time.
Sophomore Ashley Slay led the Lady Govs with a 14-kill, three-block performance that saw her post a team-leading .333 attack percentage. Senior Samantha Strother added 13 kills and a .270 attack percentage. The duo led an Austin Peay attack that finished with 51 kills but was held to a .174 attack percentage.
Gearring led Southeast Missouri with 12 kills and was one of four hitters to finish with double-digit kills. The Redhawks needed just 53 kills in the win but posted a more efficient .303 attack percentage and had seven service aces and 11 blocks.
Austin Peay continues its road trip with a 7 p.m., Tuesday contest at Murray State – the sixth match of its current seven-match road trip.
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