Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) volleyball team closes a four-match homestand against the Atlantic Sun Conference’s Kentucky contingent Friday-Saturday at the Winfield Dunn Center. The Governors host a Bellarmine squad sitting one loss behind the ASUN’s co-leaders in a Friday 6:00pm match to open the weekend. APSU then hosts league-leading Eastern Kentucky in a Saturday 2:00pm affair.
The Govs offense has started to find its footing with the start of conference play. After hitting just .196 in the four nonconference weekends, Austin Peay State University ranks sixth among ASUN teams with a .212 attack percentage in four conference matches. However, the APSU Govs’ defense has not been as fortunate, with the team allowing opponents to hit .251, which places it ninth in the league.
Bellarmine is riding a three-match win streak entering this weekend’s play, picking up wins against Queens, Central Arkansas, and North Alabama. The Knights’ lone ASUN loss came to in-state foe Eastern Kentucky to begin ASUN play. Bellarmine ranks fourth among league teams offensively, hitting at a .234 clip, and is second only to EKU with 14.60 kills per set in league play.
The Govs’ defense faces another stern test when a surging Eastern Kentucky team visits The Dunn. The Colonels offense leads the ASUN with a .323 attack percentage and 14.93 kills per set. Eastern Kentucky brings a 13-match win streak into the weekend, with its last loss coming during the season’s opening weekend as part of back-to-back losses against Mississippi State and Louisiana-Lafayette.
Admission to Austin Peay home volleyball matches is free to the public. All Austin Peay State University home volleyball matches are available on ESPN+ with Alex Gould on the play-by-play.
About APSU Volleyball
Austin Peay State University outside hitter Mikayla Powell has recorded double-digit kills in 14 consecutive matches and has four 20-kill outings in that stretch. She was the first ASUN hitter to record 200 kills this season and enters the week averaging a league-leading 3.79 kills per set.
Powell’s 250 total kills this season lead the ASUN, and she ranks 16th among Division I hitters. She is 58th among Division I hitters in kills per set.
APSU middle blocker Maggie Keenan’s 59 blocks are the fifth-most in the ASUN, and she is one of five league blockers averaging at least a block per set. She needs 29 blocks to become only the sixth Govs student-athlete to record 300 career blocks.
As September dawned, setter Kelsey Mead took over as the APSU Govs’ primary setter as the team switched from a 6-2 to a 5-1 offense. She has 489 428 assists since the change, averaging 9.06 assists per set. Mead enters Week 3 of league play ranked fifth among ASUN setters at 8.23 assists per set.
Austin Peay State University middle blocker Karli Graham is out to an impressive start in ASUN play with 27 kills (1.8 per set) and a .610 attack percentage. After two league weekends, she would lead the ASUN in attack percentage but is four attack attempts shy of qualifying.
However, Graham moved to second among ASUN attackers with her .420 attack percentage for the entire season. She has recorded 65 kills (1.97 per set) and posted a .467 attack percentage since a 12-kill performance against Valparaiso on Sept. 8 (10 matches).
Mead and libero Kalliann Cook form one of the ASUN’s top back-row defensive pairings. Mead ranks ninth in the ASUN with 171 total digs, and Cook ranks 10th with 165 digs. They are one of two sets of teammates ranked among the ASUN’s top 20 in total digs (UNA’s Luana Bulara and Avery Markham).
Freshman middle blocker Anna Rita enjoyed a breakout performance last week, scoring 13 blocks (1.44 per set) in the two matches, including setting her season bests in blocks (8) and kills (6) against Jacksonville.
Inside The Series
Bellarmine
Series Record: Austin Peay State University leads, 3-2.
Current Streak: APSU won the last three meetings.
Last Season: APSU won the 2022 ASUN opener at Bellarmine in five sets.
Notably: Austin Peay State University has won the last three meetings in the series with Bellarmine, including the previous two meetings played in Louisville. The Knights won the first two meetings in the series, including the first-ever meeting in 1981, the last time Bellarmine traveled to Clarksville.
Eastern Kentucky
Series Record: Eastern Kentucky leads, 42-30.
Current Streak: EKU won the last meeting.
Last Season: Eastern Kentucky ended the APSU Govs’ three-match win streak in the series with a three-set victory in Richmond.
Notably: Austin Peay State University has won 13 of the last 20 meetings in the series dating back to 2007. That includes an 8-2 record against the Colonels in the Dunn Center.
