Govs volleyball traveled to Jacksonville, Florida on Friday, Sept. 16 to face South Florida in the opening game of the Dolphin Invitational. APSU won in four sets (25-21, 24-26, 25-20, 25-16).
The Govs fell in the first set despite tying it at 20-20; however, APSU took charge of the second set by jumping out to a 17-7 lead. The Govs held the advantage and took set two.
The third set saw APSU called for 11 attack errors and the Bulls called for eight. The Govs went up 24-19 when the Bulls tried to rally. A kill, an ace, a block and two APSU errors had the Bulls close to winning the set. Although, Christina White’s kill ended the Bulls threat and allowed APSU to win the set.
The Govs led the majority of the fourth set, but at 24-20, the Bulls rallied once again. South Florida’s comeback started with two kills and an attack error by the Govs, which brought the Bulls within one point at 24-23. A kill from junior Kaylee Taff secured the win for the Govs.
The Govs took down Presbyterian in three sets (25-15, 25-11, 25-23) on Saturday.
During this match, Ashley Slay became the 14th Gov to achieve 1,000 kills. Slay posted 13 of those in the match, which puts her at 1,004 career kills. Slay stands at 12th on the Govs career kill list.
The Govs final match of the tournament was against host Jacksonville. APSU won the match in four sets (25-21, 24-26, 25-20, 25-16).
The first set went back and forth with 11 ties and three lead changes. The Govs took the lead at 20-20 after a 5-1 rally. A service ace from White ended the set at 25-21.
APSU lost the second set in overtime. The Govs could not get the win after four consecutive kills from the Dolphins despite reaching set-point first.
The Govs constructed a 15-10 lead in the third set. APSU continued to pull ahead, and after an attack error from the Dolphins, took set three.
The fourth and final set saw the Govs take a 9-6 lead. The Govs extended the lead with kills from both White and Taff. APSU finished with a total of 15 kills and a .306 attack percentage.
This win cemented the Govs as the winners of the Dolphin Invitational.
Slay and White both received tournament recognition. Slay had a 45-kill weekend, and White was behind her with 39 kills during the tournament. Senor Allie O’Reilly also impressed as the libero for the weekend. O’Reilly’s all-tournament recognition was earned after posting 55 digs four aces throughout the Dolphin invitational.
The Govs will face SIUE at home on Sept. 22 to open the OVC season.
