CLARKSVILLE, TENN. — Austin Peay State University's volleyball team spilt the opening day of the Governors Classic dropping the first match to Gardner-Webb 3-1 (24-26, 25-22, 14-25, 21-25) and defeating SIU Edwardsville, 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-22) in its first day of the Governors Classic, Friday, at the Winfield Dunn Center.
Game 1: Gardner-Webb
The Governors opened the first set with three straight points, two from Brooklynn Merrell aces. The Govs later saw two points from a Malena Benz kill and Reagan Anderson serve ace. Cree Hollier notched two straight points on kills for points 12 and 13. Benz added a third kill for the 17-point with a Gardner-Webb attack error for 18. The Governors and the Bulldogs exchanged points evenly for 6 rallies. The Runnin' Bulldogs scored two straight, the Govs answered with a Taly Cloyd kill, leading into a Gardner-Webb timeout with the Runnin' Bulldogs leading 24-22. The Governors would score their last point on a Gardner-Webb error before dropping the set 26-24.
The Governors saw an early four-point lead 8-4, with a Callie Gardner ace. The Governors scored points 11-13 on three straight points with a Cloyd kill and two straight Benz kills. The Govs later score two points on a Cloyd kill and a Sianna Dykes kill, with two straight points on a Remmi Cooke kill and a Gardner-Webb attack error. Austin Peay scored two on Gardner-Webb errors to trail by one, 21-20. Following a Gardner-Webb timeout, the Govs scored four straight on an Okojie solo block, Hollier kill, Merrell serve ace, and a Dykes kill to win the set 25-22.
The third set saw two early points on a Cloyd kill and a Gardner-Webb service error, and three later points on a Wallace kill and two Hollier kills. The Governors scored points 10 and 11 on a Dykes and Cloyd block, with a Wallace kill. The Governors ended the set with two straight points on a Okojie kill and a Runnin' Bulldog attack error, but would drop the set 25-14.
The Governors first points in the fourth set were tallied by Wallace and Hollier, with the fourth and fifth points from a Gardner-Webb service error and a Coy and Dykes assists. The Governors continued to score from two Runnin' Bulldogs errors, a Wallace kill, and a service error followed by a Benz kill. The Governors scored later points on a service error a Benz kill, two Hollier kills, and a Gardner-Webb attack error going into a Runnin' Bulldog timeout. The Governors scored six more points on two kills, two errors, and a bad set, but would fall in the set 25-21 and 3-1.
Box Score Bullets
- Reagan Anderson led the team with 31 digs, matching her season high vs. Green Bay (Sept. 5).
- Brooklynn Merrell assisted for 22 points, one point short of her season high at Tennessee Tech (Sept. 4).
Game 2: SIU Edwardsville
The first set saw a dominant effort with five straight points on a SIU Edwardsville service error, attack error, Sarah Butler ace, Lauren Wallace kill, and Nicole Okojie kill. The Govs later scored points 12-14 on a Cree Hollier, Malena Benz block, SIUE attack error, and Wallace kill. The Governors continued their lead through three straight points on two kills and a Reagan Anderson ace to lead 19-13. The Govs scored the final two points of the set on a Benz and Wallace block and an Anderson ace to win the set 25-17.
The Governors scored two sets of two-point streaks in the second and third and the fifth and sixth points. The Governors dominated mid set with five straight points for a seven-point lead on points 8-12 with a Hollier kill, Kaelynn Ashley ace, two Cloyd kills, and an Okojie kill. The Governors then notched four straight points on a kill, two SIUE errors, and a Benz block going into an SIUE timeout with an 11-point lead. The Governors ended the set with four straight points on a SIUE error, two Ashley kills, and a SIUE error to win the set 25-14.
The third set saw two early points scored straight on SIUE errors. The Governors scored points five and six consecutively on a Butler ace, and SIUE error. Points nine and 10 were notched by a Cloyd kill, and a Merrell ace. The Governors tallied three straight for 13-15 on a two kills and a SIUE error heading into a media timeout. The Govs scored two consecutive points on an ace and a Wallace, Okojie block, for an SIUE timeout. The Govs would score three more for a second SIUE timeout. The Governors scored their final three points on a Hollier kill, SIUE error, and Anderson ace to win the set 25-22 and the match 3-0.
Box Score Bullets
- The Governors did not see a lead change through all three sets, with the largest lead at eight in the first set, 12 in the second set, and eight in the third.
- The Govs served eight aces to the Cougars three. Austin Peay killed for 37 points to SIUE's 23.
Up Next
The Governors complete the Governors Classic Saturday, with a 2 p.m. match against Southern Illinois, before starting conference play against Little Rock, Thursday, Sept. 24, in Little Rock Arkansas.
