CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – After opening Atlantic Sun Conference on the road last weekend, Austin Peay State University's volleyball team begins a four-match ASUN homestand when it hosts Lipscomb in a 6 p.m., Wednesday match at the Winfield Dunn Center. The Governors then host Jacksonville in a 6 p.m., Saturday outing.

This week's matches also mark the debut of the Govs new volleyball playing surface. Austin Peay athletics saw the installation of a Taraflex Sports Flooring system last week. The new flooring prominently features an Austin Peay themed volleyball court design.

Austin Peay returns home after splitting its first two ASUN matches of 2023. The Govs dropped their ASUN opener at North Alabama in three sets but rebounded to sweep Central Arkansas for their first-ever win against the Sugar Bears. Outside hitter Mikayla Powell led the Govs with 26 kills (4.33 per set) over the opening weekend, Middle blocker Karli Graham also aided the cause with 12 kills (2.00 per set) and seven blocks (1.17 per set).

Lipscomb brings a four-match win streak into Wednesday's match after downing Central Arkansas in five sets and sweeping North Alabama. Bisons' setter Sophia Hudepohl picked up ASUN Setter of the Week honors after posting 121 assists (15.13 per set) and 24 digs (3.00 per set) during the week.

Jacksonville is battling an eight-match losing streak entering this week. The Dolphins nearly upset preseason favorite Florida Gulf Coast, falling in five sets to open the season. JU then dropped a four-set decision at Stetson.

Admission to Austin Peay home volleyball matches is free to the public.

THROUGH THE ROTATION

• Outside hitter Mikayla Powell has recorded double-digit kills in 12 consecutive matches and has four 20-kill outings in that stretch. She is the first ASUN hitter to record 200 kills this season and enters the week averaging a league-leading 3.91 kills per set.  
• Powell's 223 total kills this season lead the ASUN and she ranks 12th among Division I hitters. She is 51st among Division I hitters in kills per set.
• Middle blocker Maggie Keenan's 53 blocks are seventh-most in the ASUN and she is one of seven league blockers averaging at least a block per set. She needs 35 blocks to become only the sixth Govs student-athlete to record 300 career blocks.
• As September dawned, setter Kelsey Mead took over as the Govs' primary setter as the team switched from a 6-2 to a 5-1 offense. She has 428 assists since the change, averaging 9.51 assists per set. Mead enters league play ranked fifth among ASUN setters at 8.46 assists per set.
• Middle blocker Karli Graham moved up to third among ASUN attackers with a .393 attack percentage following an ASUN-opening weekend that saw her hit .647 (11 kills, 17 attempts). She has recorded 50 kills (2.08 per set) since a 12-kill performance against Valparaiso on Sept. 8 (eight matches).
• Mead and libero Kalliann Cook form one of the ASUN's top back-row defensive pairings. Mead ranks ninth in the ASUN with 171 total digs, and Cook ranks 10th with 165 digs. They are one of two sets of teammates ranked among the ASUN's top 20 in total digs (UNA's Luana Bulara and Avery Markham).
• Outside hitter Elizabeth Wheat finished the nonconference slate with 113 kills, the only other Govs hitter aside from Powell to record 100-plus kills in the opening stretch. She has already matched her 2022 offensive output (113 kills in 73 sets played).
• Defensively, Austin Peay averages 14.75 digs per set, which ranks fourth among ASUN squads. Meanwhile, the Govs front-row defense has posted 116.5 blocks - a 2.04 block per set pace that ranks fifth in the ASUN.

INSIDE THE SERIES

LIPSCOMB
SERIES: Lipscomb leads 11-4.
LAST SEASON: Lipscomb won both halves of the home-and-home set, including a five-set victory in Clarksville.
NOTABLY: The Govs' series against Lipscomb dates back to 2003. Austin Peay won the first four meetings between the teams, but Lipscomb has controlled the series since 2005. The two five-set matches played in 2022 were the first five-setters played in the series' history.

JACKSONVILLE
SERIES: Austin Peay leads 2-0.
LAST SEASON: Austin Peay swept the lone meeting between the teams last season in Jacksonville.
NOTABLY: Last season's meeting was only the second between the Govs and Dolphins, who previously met in 2017 in Jacksonville. Saturday's match will be the first played in Clarksville.