The term kill in volleyball means an attack that results in an immediate point or side out. It is important to note because the Lady Govs are stone cold killers.

Under the direction of new head coach Mike Johnson, the Lady Govs have been killing indiscriminately. The latest victims were the Eastern Kentucky Lady Colonels.
Saturday, Oct. 31, at McBrayer Arena in Richmond, Ky., the Lady Govs produced 58 kills and defeated the Lady Colonels 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 25-9, 25-18).

The match in Richmond was the second stop of an important five-match road trip the Lady Govs started in Morehead, Ky., Friday, Oct. 30.

The win was the Lady Govs’ sixth straight against a Lady Colonels team who had posted a 6-1 record at home.

According to APSU Sports Information, Johnson had positive things to say about his players after the match.

“We had great offensive balance today,” Johnson said. “It was great to see both Jessica Mollman and Taylor Skinner come alive. Eastern Kentucky played tremendous defense and it took a lot of tenacity to keep pressure on them. The score didn’t do this contest justice. The third and fourth sets were close until Kayla Grantham broke it open with her serve.”

Although Mollman led the way with 13 kills in the match, several of the Lady Govs were responsible for the carnage against the Lady Colonels. Five different Lady Govs produced 10 or more kills in the match.

The first set was a hard fought battle with 12 ties and eight lead changes. The last tie was 22-22 when Skinner made one of her 11 total kills of the match to give the Lady Govs a 23-22 lead and the serve.

Afterwards, the Lady Govs scored three straight points. The set winner was an ace served by junior setter Sarah Alisaleh.

Refusing to go down easy at home, the Lady Colonels responded strongly in the second set.

After establishing a 17-9 lead, the Lady Colonels did not relinquish it the rest of the set. The Lady Govs got within two points before being put away 25-20.

It was the Lady Govs turn to take control in the third set. They established dominance early with an opening 8-3 run.

Later, back-to-back service aces by Grantham made the score 20-8. Senior outside hitter Stephanie Champine put the Lady Colonels out of their misery with a kill that sealed the 25-9 win.

The Lady Colonels did not go away quietly in the fourth set.

They battled to a 14-14 tie, but Champine gave the Lady Govs the lead with another kill. Champine produced 11 total kills in the match. The Lady Colonels were within two points, 16-18, when the Lady Govs went on a 6-1 run that included two more aces by Grantham. Mollman finished the set and match with her 13th kill.The win at EKU improved the Lady Govs OVC record to 12-2. The Lady Colonels fell to 5-8.

As of press time, Monday, Nov. 2, the 12-2 record placed the Lady Govs second in the OVC overall behind Jacksonville State who have yet to be defeated in the OVC (14-0).

The Lady Govs’ road trip will come to an end Saturday, Nov. 7, in Cookeville, against Tennessee Tech. They defeated Tennessee Tech 3-0 at home earlier this season.

After the road trip, the Lady Govs will get a needed rest before finishing the season with two matches at home. First they will try to sweep Tennessee Martin this season, 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, in the Dunn Center.

Then they will finish the season against Murray State at 2 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 14. Murray State was the last team to defeat the Lady Govs on the road, Friday, Oct. 16.

With just two more victories, the Lady Govs will finish with a better regular season record than last year. They plan on killing their way to the 2009 OVC Championship Tournament Thursday, Nov. 19.