The Eastern Kentucky University volleyball team made an early exit from the Ohio Valley Conference tournament tonight, Nov. 20, when it fell 3-0 to No. 5 seeded Austin Peay. The Lady Govs upset the No. 4 seeded Colonels, 30-25, 30-19, 30-24. The Colonels end the season with a 21-13 record, while APSU moves to 16-15 on the year.
The Colonels battled in the opening game and took an early 4-1 lead, but the Lady Govs quickly tied it at 5-5. The game eventually saw eight ties, including a 21-21 knot before APSU went on a 9-5 run to take the opening set.
The Lady Govs led took an early 7-1 lead in the second game, forcing an EKU timeout. The Colonels pulled to within nine late in the game (23-14) on a kill by freshman outside hitter Jessica Sabath, but APSU ended the game with a 7-5 run to take the set 30-19.
In the third and final game, the Lady Govs took an early 11-4 lead and never looked back. The Colonels pulled to within three (19-16) on a kill by junior outside hitter Lesley Aldridge, but that was as close as they would come, as Austin Peay took the third set by a score of 30-24 to end the Colonels' season.
Sabath recorded a match-high 22 digs and seven kills in the season-ending match. Aldridge and sophomore Liz Guard led EKU with 11 kills apiece and each hit .310 for the match. Aldridge added nine digs, while senior Kristi Kuzma notched 10 digs in her final match as a Colonel. Freshman Kasha Brozek recorded six kills and two blocks on the night.
Despite the final outcome, Eastern Kentucky head coach Lori Duncan came away with high praise for her young squad.
"I've thought this all along," stated Duncan, "I felt like we played our best volleyball during the first six to eight weeks of the season. They (the players) are young and I think they just got banged up and worn down. It's hard for someone who's used to a shorter (high school) season to adjust to the college level.
"Austin Peay made things happen," continued Duncan. "They served aggressively, and we struggled with execution. It's disappointing, but I feel good about the things we've accomplished this season."
