APSU Volleyball heads to Kansas City for UMKC Kangaroo Klassic

APSU Sports Information

Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University (APSU)’s volleyball team lifts the lid on its 2018 schedule, Friday-Saturday, when it competes in the UMKC Kangaroo Klassic in Kansas City, Missouri.

The two-day, three-match affair will see the Governors face off against South Dakota State, Western Michigan and UMKC to begin the season. It is the first of four pre-conference tournament Austin Peay will compete in this season.

Meet The Teams

Austin Peay 0-0 (0-0 OVC) Clarksville, TN Roster Schedule Stats	South Dakota St. 0-0 (0-0 Summit) Brookings, SD Roster Schedule Stats	UMKC 0-0 (0-0 WAC) Kansas City, MO Roster Schedule Stats	Western Michigan 0-0 (0-0 MAC) Kalamazoo, MI Roster Schedule Stats

From The Serve

The Governors were picked second in the OVC’s preseason poll of coaches and sports information directors. It is the second consecutive season APSU has been picked second in the poll.

However, Austin Peay was the top pick of more than half the voters in that preseason poll. The Govs 14 first-place votes outpaced preseason favorite Murray State’s 10 first-place votes.

Senior setter Kristen Stucker, the two-time reigning OVC Setter of the Year, was a preseason All-OVC pick for a second consecutive season. She has her sights set on the Govs career assists mark this season.

Sophomore outside hitter Brooke Moore also earned preseason All-OVC honors. Last season, she became the first freshman in league history to earn OVC Tournament Most Valuable Player honors.

Senior middle blocker Kaylee Taff will see to build on her 93-block campaign last season and is the Govs second-leading returning hitter (204 kills) behind Moore.

Senior Ginny Gerig will move into the primary libero role at season’s start after leading the Govs with 477 digs last season. She needs just 34 digs to reach the 1,000-dig mark.

Austin Peay saw 47 percent of its offense depart with the graduation of Ashley Slay and Christina White. But five returning hitters each posted more than 100 kills last season.

In its preseason exhibition against Trevecca, Tuesday, each of the Govs 15 rostered athletes contributed offensively. All 15 Austin Peay players saw at least three sets of action in the five-set sweep.

Head coach Taylor Mott became the first APSU head coach since 1992 to earn OVC Coach of the Year honors. She notched her 400th career win at Tennessee Tech, October 13th, 2017. And two weeks later (October 27th at Eastern Illinois) became the second head coach to record 100 wins at APSU.