#GovsGavel: Lady Govs volleyball sweeps Florida International

THE LEAD
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Austin Peay State University volleyball head Taylor Mott has taken a big swing with her starting six and her team responded in kind at the Blazer Invitational. The Lady Govs won their second straight outing with a three-set sweep (25-11, 25-15, 25-11) of Florida International, Saturday afternoon at Bartow Arena.

WHO GOVERNED
Reserves Sammie Ebright and Peyton Walker were singled out by head coach Taylor Mott in her post-match comments (see below). Ebright finished with two kills and she shared the team lead with 13 digs. Walker had three kills, two service aces and seven digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The early going in both the first and second sets was closely fought. FIU forced five ties in the first set and four ties in the second set. However, Austin Peay took the lead for good at 9-8 in the opening frame and 13-12 of the second set.
• Austin Peay dominated the third set in wire-to-wire fashion. The Lady Govs surrendered back-to-back points just once the entire set, cruising to the 25-11 match-clinching victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Ashley Slay led the Lady Govs offense for a third consecutive match (fourth time in 2015) with 13 kills without an error (.650 attack percentage).
• Setter Kristen Stucker made her second straight start and finished with a career-high 32 assists.
• Austin Peay improved to 2-1 all-time against Florida International.

THE QUOTABLE TAYLOR MOTT
"Honestly the difference makers were Sammie (Ebright) and Peyton (Walker). Not to discredit what the rest of the team did because we did some great things offensively and defensively. But those two brought a new energy to this team that we desperately needed. This was a great win for us."

THE FULL RECAP
Mott's big swing, which was revealed in Friday's win, came in the form of a new starting lineup with three freshmen – outside hitter Logan Carger, outside hitter Cecily Gable and setter Kristen Stucker – in the lineup and bringing junior outside hitter Sammie Ebright off the bench. The results weren't readily apparent in its first outing but were much clearer in Saturday's contest.

Austin Peay (2-4) dominated the bulk of the match. The first two sets featured back and forth action early, but the Lady Govs took control at 9-8 in the first frame and 13-12 of the second set. The third set was anticlimactic as APSU broke out to a 5-1 lead and never looked back. 

Sophomore Ashley Slay has 13 kills without an attack error for a career-best .650 attack percentage. Ebright and sophomore outside hitter Peyton Walker combined for five kills of the bench, primarily from the back row.

Austin Peay needed just 40 kills to secure the win, but posted an efficient .308 attack percentage. The Lady Govs service game was also in top form with five service aces – with Slay and Walker each posting a team-leading two aces.

Katie Friesen led FIU with six kills. The Panthers (3-2) were held to 24 kills and a .049 attack percentage.

The Lady Govs wrap up their stay at the Blazer Invitational when it meets host UAB in a 4 p.m., Saturday contest.