Huntington, WV – Outside hitter Brooke Moore notched her third straight double-double to open the season, but Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team dropped a four-set decision (19-25, 28-30, 25-20, 16-25) to host Marshall, Saturday, to conclude its weekend at the Cam Henderson Center.
Both team’s defense were slow to start, with both offenses posting better than a .300 attack percentage in the opening frame, which Marshall won wire-to-wire.
But from there the story was all defense with Marshall scoring five blocks in the second set and four in the fourth to win those frames while Austin Peay used an impressive six-block third set to claim its only win of the match.
Moore nearly had her second 20-kill performance of the season but settled for her third double-double with 17 kills and 13 digs while adding three blocks. Middle blocker Maggie Keenan led the Govs 10-block outing with five blocks.
Ciara DeBell led Marshall with 15 kills and 13 digs, pacing an offense that recorded 52 kills at a .209 attack pace. Lydia Montague had six blocks in the Thundering Herd’s 13-block outing.
APSU vs. Marshall Recap
The early morning start appeared to catch both defenses off guard. But Marshall used a breakdown in the Govs passing to score two service aces en route to a 5-0 lead that set the tone in a wire-to-wire 25-19 victory. Aside from the rough start, Austin Peay matched the Thundering Herd, posting 12 kills and a .379 attack percentage versus the hosts 13 kills and .321 attack percentage.
The defenses woke up in the second set, with neither team hitting above .200 for the frame. That led to 11 ties and three lead changes in the set. Marshall led by five points at 18-13 but the Govs rallied to tie the set at 18-18 and it was nip-and-tuck from there. Austin Peay rallied to take a 23-22 lead but a well-timed Marshall timeout kept it from getting to set point.
Instead, Marshall got to set point with back-to-back Ciara DeBell kills, only to watch the Govs fend off five set point chances. But back-to-back APSU errors gave Marshall the 30-28 victory.
Marshall attempted to repeat its Set 1 victory in the third frame, racing out to a 4-0 lead. But the Govs reeled the setback and used an 8-2 run to claim a 10-8 lead. Austin Peay nursed that lead all the way to 20-19 before closing with a 5-1 run – including two blocks by the combination of Maggie Keenan and Tegan Seyring – to force a fourth set.
Marshall dominated the fourth set, easing out to an 11-9 lead before taking control with a 6-0 run that saw the Govs commit five attack errors with three forced by Marshall blocks. The Thundering Herd’s sixth block of the frame secured the 25-16 set victory.
Box Score
Austin Peay 1, Marshall 4
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| Austin Peay | 19 | 28 | 25 | 16 | 1 |
| Marshall | 25 | 30 | 20 | 25 | 3 |
Next Up for APSU Volleyball
The Austin Peay State University women’s volleyball team continues its four-week road trip next Friday-Saturday for the Harvard Invitational in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
