Chattanooga, TN – Mikayla Powell and Elizabeth Wheat combined for 34 kills, but the Austin Peay State University (APSU) volleyball team saw its five-match win streak end with a four-set loss (25-19, 21-25, 20-25, 22-25) to Chattanooga, Wednesday, at Maclellan Gym.
Austin Peay (5-2) opened the match with a rousing wire-to-wire victory in the first set. The Govs raced out to a 5-0 lead and extended the lead to 9-2 and never looked back. Powell scored six kills in the opening frame while Wheat supplied five kills in an errorless attack.
Chattanooga (6-1), playing its home opener, opened the second set with a 4-0 run but Austin Peay State University recovered and tied the set at 5-5 on a Peyton Deidesheimer block. Neither team could gain real traction in the set until the Mocs pieced together a 4-0 run to build a 16-12 lead, a burst that proved decisive as the Mocs eased to a second set win, 25-21.
The Mocs controlled the third set, building an eight-point lead at 16-8 and hanging on to win 25-20. The fourth set was more back-and-forth, with neither team leading by more than three points until the Govs held a 14-10 lead after a Maggie Keenan service ace.
But the Austin Peay State University lead would grow no larger, Chattanooga slowly working to level the set at 18-18. Chattanooga led 22-20 before the APSU Govs got points off a Powell kill and service ace to level the score. But Chattanooga regained the lead on an Elaine Redman kill and Gylian Finch served out the match with back-to-back aces.
Powell, the reigning Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week, recorded a match-best 21 kills. After closing the Lindenwood tournament with 24 and 30 kills in consecutive matches, she becomes the first Govs hitter since Nikki Doyle in 2012 who has three consecutive 20-kill outings.
Wheat finished with 13 kills and 10 digs. Setter Kelsey Mead had 49 assists and 23 digs.
Morgan Romano led Chattanooga with 20 kills and a .360 attack percentage.
Next Up For APSU Volleyball
The Austin Peay State University volleyball team turns its attention to its home-opening three-match stretch. The APSU Govs host the two-day Stacheville Challenge at the Dunn Center and open their home slate with a Friday 6:30pm match against Valparaiso. Austin Peay State University then hosts Indiana in a Saturday 2:30pm match.
