CLARKSVILLE – After dropping the first two sets, Austin Peay State University's volleyball team roared back to defeat Ohio Valley Conference foe UT Martin (14-25, 17-25, 25-19, 25-18, 15-10), Saturday, at the Winfield Dunn Center. 

The Skyhawks (13-15, 9-6) took the lead after holding the Governors (18-9, 11-3) to a .033 hitting percentage in the first set and later extended its lead after posting a match-high .452 hitting percentage in the subsequent frame.

An 8-1 run by the Govs to close out a back-and-forth third set that featured eight ties and seven lead changes cut the Skyhawks' lead to one set and gave Austin Peay its first point of the night.

Brooke Moore's seventh kill gave the Govs a 7-6 advantage in what proved to be the final lead change of the afternoon. Moore and middle blocker Maggie Keenan propelled APSU to a 25-18 fourth-set victory, tying the two teams at two sets apiece after combing for 11 kills. 

The Govs jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the match-deciding fifth frame and cruised to a 15-10 victory in a set that never saw them lead by fewer than four points.

Senior Karli Graham and Maggie Keenan each led the Govs with four total blocks, Saturday, as Moore posted her 14th double-double of the season with 15 kills and 12 digs.

The comeback from two sets down is the second this season for head coach Taylor Mott and company, as the Govs also came back to defeat Ohio, Sept. 18, at the WKU Volleyball Invitational.

The win not only gave the Govs their eighth-straight win at home this season – tying them for the third-best start at home in program history – but also moved them to second in the OVC standings after Southeast Missouri fell to Murray State in three sets. 

Austin Peay looks to finish its weekend sweep of the Skyhawks at 2 p.m., Sunday, before a midweek matchup at Murray State, Wednesday.

Set-by-Set Against the Skyhawks

• UT Martin started the match on a 5-0 run and entered the media timeout with a 15-9 lead following a 4-1 run. The Skyhawks led by as many as 11 in the first set and took the lead after winning the first set 25-14. 
• Austin Peay and UT Martin were locked in a back-and-forth battle early in a second set that featured seven ties and five lead changed prior to the media timeout. A block by the Skyhawks' Olivia Saunders gave them a 20-15 advantage and forced an APSU timeout. UTM finished the set on a 5-2 run to extend their lead.
• After leading 8-3 early in the third set, UT Martin cut its deficit to one following a 5-1 run. The two teams battled back and forth, with neither taking more than a two-point advantage, until two service aces by setter Kelsey Mead and a pair of Brooke Moore kills guided APSU to its first victory of the night.
• Moore's seventh and eight kills of the night gave APSU an 8-6 lead in the fourth set and sparked a 6-0 run. The Govs tied the match at two sets apiece following 11 combinedkills from Moore and Maggie Keenan.
• The Governors jumped out to a 7-0 lead in a final set that never saw them trail. They completed the comeback after winning the final set 15-10.

Coach's Corner

Austin Peay head coach Taylor Mott

On the first two sets… "I was disappointed in the first two sets. I always tell them that you can control your effort and your attitude, no matter how bad you may be playing on the court, you can always control your effort and attitude. My message after the second set was just, I don't care if you are playing great, but you have to outplay your effort and attitude. I felt in the two sets our communication and effort was very mediocre. It is almost like we were waiting on UT Martin to lose the match as opposed to us going out to win."

On the final three sets… "We had a different spark in the final three sets. I let them know that I was not happy after the first two sets and I think that Janvier Buggs was a bright spot for us late. She brought energy and helped us pick it up and put pressure on Martin which we were not able to do in the first two sets."

On the seniors… "Brooke Moore and Caroline Waite have been such a big part in what this program is. Brooke will have a bad match every so often, but always battles back. She has just been so good for this program for so long. Same with Caroline – she has been a leader. Our three seniors have been great for our young players to look up to and have just been great players for us overall."