Martin, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) beach volleyball team dropped a pair of 3-2 matches against Chattanooga and UT Martin on Thursday at the Skyhawk Beach Volleyball Complex.
The Governors opened the day’s events with a nail-bitter finish against the Mocs.
The No. 4 pairing of Anna Rita and Riley Marshall opened the match with a straight-set (21-12, 21-14) victory against UTC’s Maddie Myers-Osband and Grace Frigaar, but UTC answered back with two-straight wins coming from the No. 5 and No. 3 courts.
Facing a 2-1 deficit, APSU’s top pairing of Kelsey Mead and Aurora Bibolotti won their match from the No. 1 position, 21-16, 21-19, to tie the two Volunteer State foes at two points apiece and make the winner of the No. 2 court the decider.
After dropping their first set, 22-20, Jamie Seward and Jillian Stein battled back to defeat UTC’s Gylian Finch and McKenna Faychak 21-12 in the second frame, but fell in a narrow, 15-13 third set.
In the nightcap, UT Martin claimed the first two points with wins from the No. 5 and No. 3 courts, before Rita and Marshall came back to clinch APSU’s first point of the match in a 15-13 third-set decision.
The Skyhawks then clinched the victory from the No. 2 court, before Mead and Bibolotti won a 21-18, 21-19 match from the No. 1 position.
Next Up For APSU Beach Volleyball
The Austin Peay State University beach volleyball team returns home for the first time in 2024 when they host Atlantic Sun Conference foes Central Arkansas, North Alabama, and Eastern Kentucky, March 22nd-23rd, at the Atkins Family Beach Volleyball Facility to begin the second half of the season.
Austin Peay vs. Chattanooga
1. Kelsey Mead/Aurora Bibolotti (APSU) def. Neva Clark/Corina Vale (UTC) 21-16, 21-19
2. Gylian Finch/McKenna Faychak (UTC) def. Jamie Seward/Jillian Stein (APSU) 20-22, 21-12, 15-13
3. Maddie Lecik/Joy Courtright (UTC) def. Mikayla Powell/Montana-Rae Pelak (APSU) 21-12, 21-15
4. Anna Rita/Riley Marshall (APSU) def. Maddi Myers-Osband/Grace Frigaard (UTC) 21-12, 21-14
5. Morgan Romano/Julia Lawrence (UTC) def. Elizabeth Wheat/Tristin Smith (APSU) 21-14, 22-20
Austin Peay vs. UT Martin
1. Kelsey Mead / Aurora Bibolotti (APSU) def. Olivia O’ Keefe / Jenna Vallee (UTM) 21-18, 21-19
2., Sydney Eckhardt / Dylan Mott (UTM) def. Jamie Seward / Jillian Stein (APSU) 21-15, 21-23, 15-5
3. Ryan Rednour / Addy Vaughn (UTM) def. Mikayla Powell / Emily Freel (APSU) 21-18, 21-19
4. Anna Rita / Riley Marshall (APSU) def. Haeleigh Paulino / Kristin Phillips (UTM) 17-21, 21-10, 15-13
5. Kayla Carrell / Reagan McGee (UTM) def. Tristin Smith / Anna Kate Clark (APSU) 21-16, 21-13
