GOVERNORS VOLLEYBALL | 2017 & 2018 OVC REGULAR-SEASON CHAMPIONS | SIX-TIME OVC CHAMPIONS SERIES 3 ■ MOREHEAD STATE FROM THE SERVE 6 P.M. (CT), SUNDAY, FEB. 21 ■ 2 P.M. (CT), MONDAY, FEB. 22 WINFIELD DUNN CENTER ■ CLARKSVILLE, TENNESSEE An early battle for control of first place in the Ohio Valley Conference is on tap when Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team hosts More- TAKING THE COURT head State. The Govs and Eagles, each 4-0 after two league weekends, meet in a 6 p.m., Sunday match before concluding the series with a 2 p.m., Monday affair. The two-game set will be available on ESPN+ with Ashley Slay Glotta on the play-by-play. AUSTIN PEAY MOREHEAD STATE FIRST SWINGS GOVERNORS EAGLES ■ Last season, senior outside hitter Brooke Moore, a Preseason All-OVC 4-0 ■ 4-0 OVC 4-0 ■ 4-0 OVC selection, became the eighth Govs player surpass both 1,000 kills HEAD COACH HEAD COACH and 1,000 digs during her career. She has recorded double-digit kills Taylor Mott Jamie Gordon in all four matches this season and is fourth among league hitters Mississippi (1995) Kentucky, 1994 with 4.17 kills per set. 150-121 at APSU (9th) 313-236 at TSU (18th) ■ Senior outside hitter Chloe Stitt also has posted double-digit kill totals 454-280 career (22nd) 393-263 career (21st) in each of the Govs’ first four matches. Her 3.92 kills per set ranks BROADCAST INFORMATION fifth in the OVC, behind Moore. TV • ■ Junior outside hitter Aysha Hood has two kills in each of her first Ashley Slay Glotta (Play-by-Play) four matches, starting three of the four. She had three blocks in the LIVE STATS • PeayStats.com Govs opener against Tennessee Tech and added a fourth block at INSIDE THE MOREHEAD STATE SERIES Tennessee State. THE SERIES: Morehead State leads, 45-31 ■ Junior Karli Graham has notched four kills in each of the first four SERIES STREAK: MSU, two wins matches. Her six-block outing in the Monday Tennessee Tech match LAST MEETING: Morehead State def. Austin Peay, 3-1 (Nov. 21, 2019). The is one of the seven six-plus block outings in the league this season. Eagles eliminated the Govs from the 2019 OVC Volleyball Championship in ■ Austin Peay returned both halves of its starting setter tandem in four sets. Lauren Rokey and Olivia Lohmeier led MSU with 19 kills and 16 senior Caroline Waite and sophomore Kelsey Mead. The duo have kills, respectively. Brook Moore and Chloe Stitt notched 12 and 10 digs each paced the Govs to a .232 team attack percentage that ranks fourth to pace the Govs, who were held to a .130 attack percentage. among league teams. In addition, APSU’s 14.00 assists per set leads NOTABLY: Prior to downing the Govs in the OVC tourney, Morehead State all league teams – Mead averaging 6.42 per set and Waite 5.50. won the regular-season match up in Morehead. Prior to that, Austin Peay won three straight meetings in the series. ■ Sophomore right side Tegan Seyring has the OVC’s top single-match ALL-TIME WINS: Austin Peay has won 676 matches since 1978 entering hitting performance this season. Her .688-attack percentage (12- this weekend’s series. 1-16) at Tennessee State is tops by nearly 70 points. It helped her HOME DUBS: The Govs have won 267 home matches since 1980 and have move to No. 9 on the OVC’s attack percentage list this season (.329). not lost more than three home matches in three consecutive seasons. ■ After three seasons as the Govs understudy, senior Nina Korfhage took over as the lead libero this spring. She notched a career-best SPRING 2021 SCHEDULE 20 digs in the Tennessee State finale. Korfhage is now No. 7 on the OVC’s digs list with 4.33 digs per set. Date Opponent Time (CT)/Result TV Feb. 7 Tennessee Tech W, 3-0 ESPN+ ■ Joining Graham at middle blocker is freshman Maggie Keenan. Feb. 8 Tennessee Tech W, 3-0 ESPN+ She has two blocks in ecah of her last three matches and posted a Feb. 14 at Tennessee State W, 3-0 ESPN+ season-best five kills in the Tennessee State finale. Feb. 14 at Tennessee State W, 3-0 ESPN+ ■ Keenan leads a group of five newcomers on Austin Peay’s 2020-21 Feb. 21 Morehead State 6 p.m. ESPN+ roster. Setter Janvier Buggs, libero Morgan Rutledge and outside Feb. 22 Morehead State 2 p.m. ESPN+ hitters Taylor McInerney and Kaylah Jackson were each 2019 Feb. 28 at Eastern Illinois 7 p.m. ESPN+ signees. March 1 at Eastern Illinois 4 p.m. ESPN+ March 7 Murray State 4 p.m. ESPN+ ■ Adding experience off the bench will be junior middle blocker Claire March 8 Murray State 4 p.m. ESPN+ Darland, who saw action in 13 matches in 2019, and sophomore March 14 at Southeast Missouri 7 p.m. defensive specialist Erin Eisenhart, who had 111 digs (2.09/set) in March 15 at Southeast Missouri 3 p.m. 19 matches played. March 21 SIUE 7 p.m. ESPN+ ■ Due to COVID-19, APSU saw its 2020 schedule pushed into 2021, March 22 SIUE 4 p.m. ESPN+ along with the bulk of college volleyball. The OVC elected to play a March 28 at UT Martin 4 p.m. March 29 at UT Martin 2:15 p.m. 16-match spring slate with teams playing a two-match series against April 1-2 OVC Championship TBA ESPN+ eight league members at a single site. LETSGOPEAY.COM | @LETSGOPEAY | @AUSTINPEAYVB | #LETSGOPEAY OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE 2020 STANDINGS CONFERENCE SETS OVERALL SCHOOL W-L Pct. MB W-L Pct. W-L Pct. H A N L10 STR Austin Peay 4-0 1.000 — 12-0 1.000 4-0 1.000 2-0 2-0 0-0 4-0 W 4 Morehead St. 4-0 1.000 — 12-1 .923 4-0 1.000 2-0 2-0 0-0 4-0 W 4 Jacksonville St. 4-0 1.000 — 12-2 .857 4-0 1.000 2-0 2-0 0-0 4-0 W 4 SIUE 2-2 .500 2 7-6 .538 2-2 .500 0-2 2-0 0-0 2-2 L 2 Southeast Mo. St. 2-2 .500 2 7-8 .467 2-2 .500 2-0 0-2 0-0 2-2 W 2 Tennessee Tech 2-2 .500 2 6-7 .462 2-2 .500 2-0 0-2 0-0 2-2 W 2 Murray St. 2-2 .500 2 6-8 .429 2-2 .500 2-0 0-2 0-0 2-2 L 2 UT Martin 1-1 .500 2 5-4 .556 1-1 .500 0-0 1-1 0-0 1-1 L 1 Eastern Ky. 1-3 .250 3 6-11 .353 1-3 .250 1-1 0-2 0-0 1-3 L 2 Belmont 0-2 .000 3 0-6 .000 0-2 .000 0-2 0-0 0-0 0-2 L 2 Eastern Ill. 0-4 .000 4 2-12 .143 0-4 .000 0-2 0-2 0-0 0-4 L 4 Tennessee St. 0-4 .000 4 2-12 .143 0-4 .000 0-2 0-2 0-0 0-4 L 4 NOTES: OVC regular-season title (and tournament seeding) determined by OVC match win percentage. When possible tied teams are sorted by tiebreaker, alphabetically if no tiebreaker applies. 2020 VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP The 2020 Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Championship will be held at the site of the 2020 OVC reg- ular-season champion, April 1-2. The top four teams in the regular-season standings will comprise the tournament field. The tournament champion will earn the conference’s automatic bid to the 2020 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship. Austin Peay has claimed three OVC tournament titles, winning the 1991, 2010 and 2017 editions of the event. GOVS IN THE OVC NOTES TWO PRESEASON PICKS GOVS GET FIFTH-PLACE NOD EKU, JSU IN FINAL OVC CAMPAIGN For a third consecutive season, Austin Peay Austin Peay was selected fifth in the Ohio Val- On Jan. 29, 2021, the Ohio Valley Conference outside hitter Brooke Moore was named to ley Conference’s preseason predicted order of announced that Eastern Kentucky and Jack- the preseason squad. Southeast Missouri, finish as voted by the league’s coaches and sonville State were departing the conference which was picked to win the league title this sports information directors. at the end of the 2020-21 season. season placed four on the Preseason All-OVC OVC PRESEASON COACHES POLL “Eastern Kentucky University informed us team after winning its sixth tournament title in Rnk Team (1st-place votes) Points in writing, and Jacksonville State University 2019. Jacksonville State, the defending OVC 1. Southeast Missouri (10) 222 has verbally informed us of their intention to regular-season champion, was picked second 2. Jacksonville State (5) 216 leave the Ohio Valley Conference,” said Beth in the preseason poll and had two athletes 3. Morehead State (7) 214 DeBauche, OVC Commissioner. “By its very named to the preseason team. 4. Murray State (2) 180 nature, conference membership is dynamic PRESEASON ALL-OVC TEAM 5. Austin Peay 160 as institutional priorities and areas of focus Athlete, Team 6. SIUE 137 change. We respect that evolution and value Maggie Adams, Southeast Missouri t7. Tennessee Tech 123 the fact both institutions will always be a val- Tara Beilsmith, Southeast Missouri .