Austin Peay Sports Information
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team begins the second half of Ohio Valley Conference play when it makes the “Illinois Swing,” beginning with a 7:00pm, Friday contest at Eastern Illinois.
The Lady Govs then travel to the western side of the Prairie State for a 2:00pm, Saturday contest at SIU Edwardsville.
That group includes final two spots in the Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Championship. Sitting among those teams at 3-5 is SIUE, one of five teams left on APSU’s schedule that are 3-5 or worse in conference at the halfway point.
“There is still a lot to be said about who makes the tournament,” said Lady Govs head coach Taylor Mott. “By no means are we out of the race; we could jump into one of those eight spots in a weekend. But we have to help ourselves by closing out matches in the second half.”
The Lady Govs will face Eastern Illinois and SIUE just two weeks after their first meeting this season. Austin Peay split the weekend pair against the two opponents, October 9th-10th. Austin Peay opened with a five-set victory against the Cougars, its only OVC win this season, behind Ashley Slay‘s 15-kill performance. The Lady Govs then fell to Eastern Illinois in four sets despite Aubrey Marsellis‘ 13-kill, 18-assist effort.
About Eastern Illinois (11-11, 6-2 OVC)
Eastern Illinois is riding a three-game win streak it started with a October 10th victory against Austin Peay. The streak has catapulted the Panthers to second place in the OVC race at the hallway point.
EIU is 4-1 at Lantz Arena this season, but is unbeaten at home in OVC play (4-0). In OVC play, Eastern Illinois is second among league squads with a .253 attack percentage and 13.73 kills per set. That despite not having a single player ranked among the OVC’s Top 10 in kills as six players share the offensive load with 30 or more kills in OVC play.
Series History: Eastern Illinois ran its series win streak to six matches with its October victory. The Panthers now hold a 22-17 edge in the series all-time, including a 12-6 advantage in Charleston.
About SIU Edwardsville (5-13, 3-5 OVC)
SIU Edwardsville opened a four-match homestand with back-to-back wins against Southeast Missouri and UT Martin last weekend. Those wins moved the Cougars into a four-team tie for seventh place in the OVC standings.
SIUE has been led in OVC play by the duo of Kristen Torre and Ashley Witt, who rank seventh and ninth, respectively in kills. Torre’s 3.71 kills per set comes with an impressive .415 attack percentage that is second best in the OVC. Witt is averaging 3.26 kills per set.
Series History: Austin Peay ended SIUE’s three-match win streak with its October victory. The win helped APSU maintain a small 8-6 advantage in the all-time series. The Lady Govs also own a 3-2 lead in matches played in Edwardsville.
Catch It Live
Both matches will be available on the OVC Digital Network, available free on any digital device. In addition, live statistics will be available through each school’s respective athletics website.
Video
APVB heads into the weekend needing wins against SIUE and EIU to stay in the thick of the OVC race.
