Box Score

RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky came out on top of a back and forth match against second place Austin Peay on Tuesday night at McBrayer Arena. The Colonels trailed 1-0 and 2-1 but came back to win the fourth and fifth sets to pull out a 3-2 victory.

Often times the match was not pretty. The two teams combined for 26 aces and 18 service errors. EKU totaled 56 kills and a .212 attack percentage. APSU finished with 49 kills and a .154 hitting percentage.

Freshman Ashley Edmond and senior Lauren Snyder both contributed 17 kills for Eastern Kentucky. Edmond hit .262 with four aces and seven digs. Autumn Harms finished with eight kills, a .263 attack percentage and three total blocks. Senior Kelsey Rose had five service aces. Senior #Abby O’Connor# led all players with 25 digs.

Nikki Doyle had a team-best 16 kills for Austin Peay. Jessica Mollman had five total blocks for the visitors.

Three straight points on three EKU errors gave the Lady Govs (14-4, 5-2 OVC) a 20-13 advantage in the first set. However, the Colonels (4-11, 3-3 OVC) used a 6-1 run to draw within two, 21-19. APSU held off the rally and closed out the first set 25-21.

The second set was close throughout. The score was tied 10 times and the lead changed hands six times. A kill by Kayla Grantham gave APSU a late 23-22 advantage, but the Colonels scored three straight to win the set 25-23 and tie the match 1-1. Rose’s service ace gave Eastern set-point.

EKU jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead in the third set, but Austin Peay came back and tied the score at 9-9. The set remained close the rest of the way. An APSU service error allowed Eastern to draw within one, 23-22, but the Lady Govs won the next two points to take the set 25-22 and a 2-1 advantage in the match.

In winning the next two sets, the Colonels hit .310 in the fourth and .400 in the fifth. In the final two sets combined, EKU had 23 kills and only four errors.

Eastern took a 6-1 lead early in the fourth, but again the Lady Govs came back and tied the score 8-8. Midway through, EKU used a 4-0 run to turn a two-point advantage into a six-point lead. An ace by Robyn Hench made it 19-13. A kill by Doyle closed the margin to 23-21, but Harms responded with a kill and an APSU attack error ended the set 25-21 in favor of the home team.

Austin Peay scored the first two points of the fifth set, but the Colonels rolled off three straight. A kill by Edmond broke a 3-3 tie and EKU never looked back. Back-to-back APSU errors stretched the Eastern lead to 10-5. After a kill by Ilyanna Hernandez cut the deficit to four, EKU won the final five points of the set. Consecutive kills by Hannah Groudle and Marissa Tashenberg extended the lead to 13-6. Two straight errors by the Lady Govs closed out the set 15-6.

The Colonels will play two home matches this weekend beginning with Tennessee-Martin on Friday at 7 p.m.