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#1 Austin Peay 3, #3 Murray State 2 (21-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-21, 15-10)
#1 AUSTIN PEAY 3, #3 MURRAY STATE 2
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay topped rival Murray State 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-21, 15-10) to claim its third overall Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Tournament Championship on Saturday at the Dunn Center.
It is the first title for the Governors (30-5) since 2010. The program also won in 1991.
Austin Peay will find out who and where it will play in the NCAA Tournament during the NCAA Selection Show which will air on ESPNU at 8 p.m. CT on Sunday, November 26.
The Governors had their hands full with the Racers through the first four sets. Murray State would win the first and third frames but had to hold off late Austin Peay charges in each frame. Meanwhile, the Govs won the second and fourth sets in nerve-rattling fashion, taking a lead for good at 22-21 in the second and at 18-17 in the fourth then holding off the Racers each time.
In the fifth, the teams traded the first four points before the Govs got back-to-back kills from freshman Brooke Moore and junior Kaylee Taff for a 4-2 lead. After another exchange of points, Austin Peay gained control with four straight points as junior Cecily Gable and redshirt junior Christina White posted back-to-back kills in front of back-to-back Racers errors for a 9-4 lead that proved too much for Murray State to overcome. Taff would put down a kill to end the match and secure the tournament title.
White led the Govs with a career-high 20 kills, including five in a match-leveling fourth set victory. Moore, who was named the tournament’s “Most Valuable Player” finished with 15 kills – she posted seven kills and a .700 attack percentage in the final two sets. Taff and Gable added 12 and 11 kills, respectively in the win.
Rachel Holthaus and Katirah Johnson each had 14 kills to lead Murray State. Rachel Guistino and Dacia Brown had 13 and 10 kills each.
2017 OVC VOLLEYBALL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Allie Hueston, Eastern Illinois
Cassie Knutson, Eastern Kentucky
Rachel Holthaus, Murray State
Callie Anderton, Murray State
Kristen Stucker, Austin Peay
Allie O'Reilly, Austin Peay
Brooke Moore, Austin Peay (MVP)