CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University's volleyball team defeated Atlantic Sun Conference opponent Bellarmine, 3-2, Saturday, at the Winfield Dunn Center. 

This marks the first win for interim head coach Connor Crawford and the first win of the Govs' conference season. Payton Deideshmeimer paced the Govs with 17 kills, which matched her career-high, and Luci Lippelgoos had a career-high 11 blocks. 

Austin Peay and Bellarmine went back-and-forth during the first set, seeing seven ties, with the last one being at 18. Kills by Abby Thigpen and Gabriella MacKenzie and a service ace from Tayler Baron gave the Govs the 21-18 lead and forced a Bellarmine timeout. A kill by Jayda Harris put the Knights within two of the Governors, but consecutive kills by MacKenzie gave the Govs the 25-19 first-set win. 

The Governors quickly started the second set with a 7-4 lead. However, a 5-0 run by the Knights allowed them to take the lead and forced an Austin Peay timeout. The Govs fought back and tied the set at 11 with a service ace by Kayleigh Ryan and a Knights attack error, but Bellarmine earned five consecutive points to take the lead by five at 16-11. A kill by Payton Deidesheimer, followed by a Knight attack error, cut the Govs' deficit to two at 16-14, as close as they would get for the remainder of the set as Bellarmine took the second set, 25-19. 

The Govs and the Knights were tied at 6 to begin the third set until a 6-0 run by the Knights gave them the lead at 12-6. Kills by Payton Deidesheimer and Anna Rita got the Govs within four at 16-12. Bellarmine again extended their lead to four at 18-14, but the Govs battled back as consecutive kills from Deidesheimer, assisted by Ryan, trimmed the Govs trail to one at 19-18. The two teams traded points, tying the set at 24. The Knights ended the set on a 4-2 run to take the 28-26 third set win. 

Austin Peay and Bellarmine were tied early in the fourth set at 7. The Govs were able to take the 13-11 lead with a kill from Sarah Carnathan, but the Knights fought back with consecutive kills, giving them the 17-16 lead. Bellarmine extended their lead to 24-20 with a kill from Natalie Bland, but the Govs ended the set on a 7-1 run to take the 27-25 win, extending the match to a fifth set. 

The Govs used their fourth set momentum to lead 3-0 to begin the fifth. However, the Knights responded with a 5-0 run to lead 5-3. Austin Peay fought back as a kill by Carnathan tied the set at seven, and a service ace by Maggie Duyos gave them the 8-7 lead. The two teams found themselves tied again at nine but kills by Dani Kopacz and MacKenzie gave the Govs the 11-9 lead and forced a Bellarmine timeout. Errors by the Knights and another kill from Kopacz gave the Govs a 13-10 lead. Bellarmine would get within two of the Governors at 14-12 from a kill by Jayda Harris, but a final block from Deidesheimer and Lippelgoos ended the set with the Govs winning 15-12 and taking the match 3-2. 

Up next, the Governors head down 1-24 for a match against in-state ASUN rival Lipscomb, Tuesday, at 6 p.m. in Nashville.