RICHMOND, Ky. – On the regular season's final day, Austin Peay State University beach volleyball dropped its opening match to Chattanooga, 3-2, but the Governors bounced back to pick up a 5-0 sweep of Eastern Kentucky in the regular-season finale, Sunday, at the EKU Beach Tournament. 

With a 6-8 mark in the regular season, Austin Peay will be the No. 4 seed in the Ohio Valley Conference Beach Volleyball Championship, April 29 to May 1, at the Skyhawk Beach Volleyball Complex in Martin, Tennessee. The Govs will kick off the OVC Tournament with a 1 p.m., Thursday, match against No. 5 seed Jacksonville State (3-7). The winner of the opening match between the Govs and Gamecocks will then play a 5 p.m., Thursday, match against top-seeded Morehead State (10-1).

In Sunday's first match, Austin Peay got out to an early lead when MiMi Arrington and Claire Darland picked up their sixth win of the season in the No. 5 pairing. But the Mocs bounced back and won the No. 3 and No. 4 pairings to take a 2-1 lead, before Jenna Panning and Brooke Moore won their team-best tenth match of the season to tie the match, 2-2. However, Chattanooga was able to knock off Marlayna Bullington and Aysha Hood in the No. 1 pairing and picked up a 3-2 decision over the Governors.

The Govs found their stride in the afternoon match against Eastern Kentucky, with Arrington and Darland winning again in the No. 5 pairing to start the rout of the Colonels. Then it was Caroline Waite and Erin Eisenhart who picked up their seventh win of the season in three-sets in the No. 4 pairing to give the Govs a 2-0 advantage. The match-clinching point came in the No. 2 pairing, where Panning and Moore dispatched the Colonels to secure the win.

With the match already decided, Kelsey Mead and Tegan Seyring won in the No. 3 pairing and Bullington and Hood won in the No. 1 pairing to secure a 5-0 sweep of Eastern Kentucky.

For more information on the OVC Beach Volleyball Championship, visit the OVC Championship's homepage (https://bit.ly/3gEGaJN) or check back at LetsGoPeay.com. For scores, news, and schedule updates, follow Austin Peay Beach Volleyball on Twitter (@AustinPeayBVB).

Results

Chattanooga def. Austin Peay, 3-2

1 – Krege/Young (UTC) def. Bullington/Hood (APSU) 22-20, 21-18

2 – Panning/Moore (APSU) def. Finch/Steger (UTC) 17-21, 21-12, 15-8

3 – Cirino/Gallentine (UTC) def. Mead/Seyring (APSU) 21-15, 21-17

4 – Ashway/Lomax (UTC) def. Eisenhart/Waite (APSU) 21-14, 19-21, 16-14

5 – Arrington/Darland (APSU) def. Myers-Oband/Jordan (UTC) 23-25, 21-18, 16-14

Ex – Rutledge/Keenan (APSU) def. Mullins/Perkins (UTC) 21-15, 21-11

Order of finish: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Austin Peay def. Eastern Kentucky, 5-0

1 – Bullington/Hood (APSU) def. Woody/Mitchell (EKU) 21-10, 21-17

2 – Panning/Moore (APSU) def. Johnson/Schoen (EKU) 21-4, 21-7

3 – Mead/Seyring (APSU) def. Alexander/Michalak (EKU) 21-18, 21-16

4 – Eisenhart/Waite (APSU) def. Schmitendorf/Logan (EKU) 16-21, 21-17, 15-11

5 – Arrington/Darland (APSU) def. Campbell/Roeder (EKU) 21-19, 21-13

Ex – Buggs/Graham (APSU) def. Franklin/Davis (EKU) 21-11, 21-10

Order of finish: 5, 4, 2, 3, 1