CLARKSVILLE – Austin Peay State University's volleyball team took down Morehead State in four sets (25-14, 25-21, 15-25, 25-23) to pick up its first regular-season sweep of the reigning Ohio Valley Conference champions since 2009, Saturday afternoon.

The Governors played aggressive defense in the first two sets, holding the Eagles to sub-.100 hitting percentages and capitalizing on 17 combined Morehead State errors.

Freshman Jaida Clark paced Austin Peay with her second-straight 13-kill performance, connecting at a .650 clip and adding a pair of digs and blocks. The Murfreesboro native was one four Govs to reach the double digit kill mark.

The Eagles jumped out to a commanding 6-1 lead in the fourth set, but the Govs fought their way back, leading 15-14 at the media timeout courtesy of three-straight Jaida Clark kills heading into the break.

Trailing 22-20 following a MSU service ace in the fourth, the Govs rallied late with a 5-1 run to finish the match, defeating the Eagles for the second straight day.

Mikayla Powell provided the dagger with her 10th kill of the afternoon finishing off the weekend sweep of the visitors from the Bluegrass State.

Fifth-year senior Brooke Moore tallied her third consecutive double-double with 13 kills and 11 blocks, while Kaylah Jackson had her third-straight match of at least nine kills.

The win extends Austin Peay's streak of starting OVC play with back-to-back wins to six seasons. It is also the first time APSU has swept Morehead State and also the defending OVC champions since 2009 (Tennessee Tech).

Up next, the Govs welcome SIUE to the Winfield Dunn Center for a two-match, Friday-Saturday series against the Cougars with the first matches beginning at 6 p.m., Friday followed by an 11 a.m. start the following day.

Set-by-Set Recap vs. Morehead State

• Kaylah Jackson's five kills at a .833 hitting and kill percentage led the Govs' early attack in the first set. Austin Peay jumped out to a quick, 7-1 early and never allowed the Morehead State to trim the deficit to under four. While the Eagles looked to find life late with a 3-0 run, the Govs answered back with a 5-0 run of their own to take the first set with a commanding, 25-14 victory.
• Morehead State led throughout the early stages of the second set before a 6-1 Govs' run heading into the media timeout propelled them to a 15-11 lead. Austin Peay capitalized on 11 second-set errors and .000 hitting percentage by the Eagles to extend their lead with a 25-21 win.
• The Eagles cut into the Govs' 2-0 lead with a third-set victory where Austin Peay did not lead.
• Morehead State again jumped out to an early, 6-1 lead in the final set, but Austin Peay took their first lead of the set at 12-11 and held a narrow 15-15 advantage at the media timeout. 
• The Eagles lead 21-20 late in the set, forcing Austin Peay to call timeout; however, the Govs finished the set and match on a 5-1 run to defeat the visiting Eagles in four sets.

Coach's Corner

Austin Peay head coach Taylor Mott

On sweeping Morehead State... "I know what it's like to be in Morehead State's shoes where you have just won the conference and have that pressure on your back. That may be what they are going through right now at the start of conference play, but I do think our team played well this weekend. When we can pass, serve and run all three options we are very hard to stop. In the third and fourth set we struggled to pass which made us pretty predictable. But this was two huge wins for us. To start conference 2-0, especially against Morehead State, hopefully that is a confidence booster that will help us."

On the 2-0 start in conference play... "It is important to get out to a good start. It'll give us some confidence heading into the rest of the OVC season. I don't think we could have planned for anything better. We had a lot of young kids on the floor this weekend. Jaida Clark is just a freshman and today, she was just outstanding. She had some huge swings at key moments."

On preparing for next weekend's matchup against SIUE... "We are going to key in on winning third sets and servicing. When we aren't passing well, it makes it tough on us. Normally, we pass well and practice it a lot, but sometimes we just get nervous or tense so that will be one thing we practice on this week."