Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team went 1-2 at the Billiken Invitational, Sept. 5-6, in St. Louis, Missouri, with losses to Saint Louis and Western Illinois before earning its first victory of the season against Murray State.

The Govs (1-5, 0-0 ASUN) opened the weekend against host Saint Louis (3-1), falling in straight sets (23-25, 17-25, 21-25). Austin Peay built a 12-7 lead in the first set before the Billikens went on a 6-1 run to regain control. SLU also controlled the second and third sets, closing out the match despite a late push from the Govs that cut the deficit to 18-17 in the final frame.

Later that day, Austin Peay dropped another 3-0 match to Western Illinois (25-22, 25-15, 25-20). The Govs fought back from an early 7-1 deficit to take a brief lead in the first set, highlighted by aces from Addi Hultquist and a kill from Nya Browne that tied the set at 21. However, the Leathernecks held on to win the opener and carried momentum through the next two sets to complete the sweep.

Austin Peay closed the tournament on Saturday with a 3-2 win over Murray State, marking the first career victory for head coach Evan Amstutz. After dropping the first two sets (25-17, 25-19), the Govs responded by winning the next three, 25-14, 25-23, and 15-10. The turning point came in the third set, when an 8-0 run gave Austin Peay an 18-10 lead. which they did not relinquish.

Several Govs posted career-best performances in the win. Dani Kopacz recorded 17 kills, while Sianna Dykes added 11. Taly Cloyd finished with a season-high seven blocks, and the setting duties were split between Sarah Butler (30 assists) and Gianna Tagoa’i (29 assists), who also served four aces. Defensively, Reagan Anderson paced the team with 23 digs.

Austin Peay will next compete at the SIUE Cougar Classic on Sept. 12 at 11 a.m. in Edwardsville, Illinois, facing SIUE.