COLUMBIA, Mo. – Junior Chloe Stitt posted her first career 20-kill outing as Austin Peay State University's volleyball team fell in four sets (20-25, 15-25, 25-18, 25-22) to Northern Iowa, Sunday, to conclude its stay at the Mizzou Invitational.
Stitt's career outing was highlighted by a 10-kill performance in the third set alone. Her nearly perfect third frame (10 kills, 1 error, 20 attacks) pushed the Govs to a win in the third and helped force a fourth set.
The Govs and Panthers battled through a closely fought fourth set that featured 18 ties and eight lead changes. Austin Peay took a two-point advantage late on a Claire Darland Kill and a UNI error. A Northern Iowa timeout halted the Govs momentum and the Panthers replied with a 6-1 run to claim the set and the match.
Stitt led the Govs with 20 kills and a .318 attack percentage against the Panthers. Sophomore Jenna Panning added a season-best 11 kills while posting a.455 attack percentage. Austin Peay recorded 47 kills and six blocks in the contest.
Northern Iowa's Karlie Taylor had 17 kills and was one of four hitters to reach double-digit kill territory. The Panthers had 61 kills, 10 blocks and eight service aces.
Austin Peay returns to Clarksville to begin preparation for Ball State's Active Ankle Challenge, Friday-Saturday. The Govs open that event with a 6 p.m., Friday contest against host Ball State.
NOTES & NOTABLES
STITT ALL-TOURNEY. Sunday's career-best outing against Northern Iowa was a well-placed bow on the top of an impressive weekend by Stitt. She led the Govs with 55 kills (3.67/set) while at the Mizzou Invitational, posting a .210 attack percentage. After opening with eight kills against host Missouri, she had 14 kills against Boise State and 13 kills against Kansas City.
PANNING DOUBLES DOWN. Fresh off her season-best 12 kills against Kansas City, Saturday, Panning followed that with an impressive effort against Northern Iowa. She fell one shy of her season high with 11 kills but committed just one error to finish with an impressive .455 attack percentage.
WAITE RISES. Sophomore Caroline Waite had her best weekend of the season to date, finishing with a team-best 93 assists (6.20/set) in the Governors two-setter offense. Entering the weekend, her career best assists total was 23 set against Texas Tech. However, she bested that mark twice in Missouri, including a career-high 35-assist performance against Kansas City.
