The All State

Media Credit: Lois Jones Freshman Jessica Mollman attempts against Murray State. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Lois Jones The Lady Govs huddle together before the opening of their home season. The Lady Govs first 16 games were played on the road where they went 6-10. In Friday's match against UT-Martin, the Lady Govs won 3-1 even though UT-Martin took on everything APSU threw at them, with Martin having 22 blocks compared to .239. The Lady Govs' next three OVC games are at home with the first one on Oct. 4 against Southeast Missouri who are 4-3 (8-9 overall). [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Lois Jones The Lady Govs are currently in eighth place in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 2-4 record (7-11 overall). Morehead State is currently leading the OVC with an undefeated 6-0 record (12-5 overall). [Click to enlarge]

After a 16 game road trip, the Austin Peay State University volleyball team finally understood the term "there's no place like home." During their road trip, the Lady Govs went 6-10 and were excited to show their home fans how much improvement they have made. The Lady Govs opened their home stand against Ohio Valley Conference opponent University of Tennesee Martin and came away with the win 3-1 (30-26, 17-30, 30-25, 30-28).
"Every team we played we were the odd team out," said head coach Jenny Hazelwood. "Now that we are at home we get a little more rest."
The familiar chant of "Let's Go Peay" was heard around the Dave Aaron Arena as APSU took the win with freshman middle's Maegan Squibb and Jessica Mollman having a big impact. Squibb had nine kills while Mollman chipped in with 14. Senior Dodi Szymska led the team with 18 kills while senior Kristen Kirch led the team in digs with 22.
"They all play really well together," Hazelwood said. "They all want to work hard, they work really hard in practice and try to bring that out on the court." After netting their first win at home the Lady Govs brought that confidence against Murray State University in their Saturday afternoon game. Murray State came into the game tied for fourth place in the OVC with Samford and showed why they were rated as one of the top teams. Murray State and APSU went back and forth for all five games before Murray State pulled out with the victory (30-20, 29-31, 30-27, 21-30, 15-9).
"We came out flat in game one," Hazelwood said. "After we won game four we had the momentum but we came out flat and I think we have to find a way to have a positive mental attitude."
Szymska again led the way for the Lady Govs with 25 kills and .344 attack percentage, while Mollman was right behind her with 18, and sophomore Kirsten Distler had 14. Kirch again led the team in digs with 21, with Distler getting 17 of her own.
"Murray is good at what they do," Hazelwood said. "The fact that we went five with Murray, who have beaten a number of our conference schools, is a good thing for us but it hurts not to come away with the win."
The Lady Govs will look to improve their home record and OVC record Oct. 4 as they host Southeast Missouri.
"The girls were excited to play at home and had a lot of fun playing here," Hazelwood said. "We are doing a lot of good things and making progress especially with our freshman middles. Eventually we are going to be good and we just have to show up ready to play."

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