DELAND, Florida – In its first appearance in the ASUN Conference Beach Tournament, Austin Peay State University's beach volleyball team fell, 5-0, to ASUN North Division champion Coastal Carolina in the opening round, Thursday.
Despite the scoreline, the Governors (15-14, 4-4 ASUN) put themselves in situations to extend matches or take points, but just couldn't quite come up with enough plays to do so.
The day opened with the No. 4 and 5 pairings taking the courts first. After falling in the first set, MiMi Arrington and Caroline Waite held a lead for much of the second set. The Chanticleers (20-9, 8-0 ASUN) would battle back, though, and Anett Nemeth and Kalin Eske forced overtime and eventually took the second set, 23-21.
It was a similar storyline at the No. 4 draw, as Cori Theiss and Lucy Randall exploded out of the gates in the second set, taking a six-point lead early on after dropping the first set. But CCU's Aleksandra Djuric and Shelby Ladewig ripped off a strong run to close out the second set, 21-16, and give the Chanticleers a 2-0 advantage going into the top three pairs.
The No. 2 pairing for the Govs of Ciera Koons and Brooke Moore entered the match having won 11 of their last 15 matches, and they put on a strong showing against CCU's Lucy Campbell and Anaiah Boyer. Both sets were back-and-forth affairs, but the Chanticleers secured both, 21-18, to earn the decision in favor of CCU.
On the main court, the No. 1 pair of Jenna Panning and Haley Turner rebounded strongly after a first set defeat to take an early lead in the second set, though they were never able to put any distance between themselves and Sydney Alvis and Leah Hardeman. The Chanticleers' duo made just enough plays and caught enough breaks to take the second set, 21-19, and secure the fourth point for CCU.
The No. 3 pair of Ginny Gerig and Chloe Stitt had the best opportunity of the morning to secure the Govs' first point of the tournament after edging out a 21-19 victory in set one. The second set went the way of CCU's Lucy Campbell and Anaiah Boyer, 21-16, and the Chanticleers closed out the decisive third set, 15-12.
The Govs will have at least one more match in DeLand, 6:30Â a.m. CT, Friday, as they will face the loser of Match Four today between second-seeded North Florida and the winner between the three-seed Florida Gulf Coast and six-seed North Alabama.
Coastal Carolina 5, Austin Peay 0
1. Alvis, Sydney/Hardeman, Leah (CCU) def. Jenna Panning/Haley Turner (APSU) 21-14, 21-19
2. Campbell, Lucy/Boyer, Anaiah (CCU) def. Brooke Moore/Ciera Koons (APSU) 21-18, 21-18
3. Federico, Kate/Gauthier, Tanner (CCU) def. Ginny Gerig/Chloe Stitt (APSU) 19-21, 21-16, 15-12
4. Djuric, Aleksandra/Ladewig, Shelby (CCU) def. Cori Theiss/Lucy Randall (APSU) 21-13, 21-16
5. Nemeth, Anett/Eske, Kalin (CCU) def. MiMi Arrington/Caroline Waite (APSU) 21-11, 23-21
