Kaylee Taff’s big night paces Austin Peay Govs to OVC Tourney opening win

By APSU Sports Information | November 15, 2018 |

APSU Sports Information

Clarksville, TN – Senior Kaylee Taff had 11 kills and four blocks, leading the Austin Peay State University (APSU) volleyball team to a three-set sweep (25-15, 25-18, 25-14) against Tennessee State in the opening round of the 2018 Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Championship, Thursday night, November 16th at the Winfield Dunn Center.

Austin Peay senior Kaylee Taff has 11 kills and 4 blocks in three set sweep of Tennessee State Thursday night at the OVC Tournament. (APSU Sports Information)

Austin Peay (26-4) advances to the tournament’s semifinal round where it will face No. 4 seed Jacksonville State in a 5:00pm, Friday contest. The Gamecocks dispatched No. 5 seed SIU Edwardsville in three sets earlier Thursday.

Tennessee State (9-19) enjoyed the match’s early momentum, running off four straight points to build a 6-3 lead in the opening set.

However, the Governors responded with 13 or the next 15 points to take control at 16-8 and eased to a 25-15 win. Taff set the tone for the match with a kill on each of her five attempts in the set.

The Tigers dialed up another early run to start the second and led 5-3 early on. Tennessee State would be more difficult to turn aside in the second, staying close until 9-9 in the frame.

Austin Peay then scored six of the next eight points to edge out to a 14-10 lead before scoring five straight later in the frame as it again eased to the win.

Austin Peay did not give Tennessee State an opportunity to take a lead in the third, scoring seven of the first nine points and never looking back. A later 6-0 run would end any doubt as to the outcome as the Govs won wire-to-wire.

Taff’s 11-kill outing saw her commit just one attack error to post a .625 attack percentage.

Brooke Moore added 10 kills in an errorless night on attack, posting a .370 attack percentage. Austin Peay needed just 40 kills in the win thanks to seven service aces and nine blocks.

Julia Pierson led Tennessee State with 15 kills and a .316 attack percentage.

However, she was the bulk of the TSU offense which mustered just 32 kills and a .080 team attack percentage in the loss.

APSU Governors, Notably

Home Win Streak
Austin Peay’s home win streak was extended to 14 matches with Thursday’s victory. That streak dates back to the opening match of the 2017 OVC Volleyball Championship.

Straight Chalk
The opening day of the 2018 OVC Volleyball Championship went according to seed with each of the four top seeds winning in three sets. It is the first time since the tournament was expanded to eight teams in 2012 that the first round went without an upset.

In addition, it is the first time all four of the opening day matches were won with sweeps.

Previously Against the Gamecocks
Austin Peay won a four-set decision against Jacksonville State, October 19th, in the only regular-season meeting between the two teams. Brooke Moore had 14 kills in the win while Logan Carger had 11 kills and six blocks. JSU’s Addie Halverson led her squad with 16 kills but also had 14 attack errors in the contest.

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