The All State

» By MARLON SCOTT – mscott@my.apsu.edu

It is no secret APSU is involved in many rivalries on and off the court. The best known is that of APSU and Murray State. Simply put, when the Racers and the Govs play, the mood changes.

The Lady Govs were coming off a difficult, five-set loss to SEMO when they took the court on Saturday, Oct. 8, against the Murray Racers. As expected, the mood changed thoroughly.

However, what was not expected was for the two teams to make history. It took 43 points in the longest third set in OVC history for the Lady Govs to sweep the Racers, 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 43-41).

It appeared as if the Racers were going to push the match into a fourth game when they had set point ahead of the Lady Govs, 24-20. However, the Lady Govs fought off five set points, scoring four to tie the set at 24. That was when the game became a marathon.

The two teams ended up exchanging the lead 10 times in addition to producing 27 ties. From 30 to 35, 40 and inevitably 43, the match ultimately the came down to who flinched first. Like the two sets before, it was Murray who blinked, adding more fuel to the already blazing rivalry between the two schools.

“We work on it all the time,” said head coach Bill Egbert. “We work on just fighting, not looking at the score and playing every point for every point. They are really starting to take that to heart and are starting to execute well with it. That’s why we were able to push at the end there.”

The Lady Govs produced 23 kills and seven blocks in the third set alone. They finished the match with 58 kills and 13 total blocks. Junior outside hitter Nikki Doyle led the Lady Govs, who scored double-digit points, with 17.5.

Doyle made 15 kills and finished the match with a .519 attack percentage. Sophomore middle blocker Lauren Henderson scored 15.5 points and led the team with 6.5 blocks. Senior outside hitter Ilyanna Hernandez and freshman outside hitter Jada Stotts both scored 13 points.

The dramatic third set was the end of a long day for the Racers. The Lady Govs completely dominated the first set. They took the lead on an early 4-0 run and controlled the rest of the game. Stunned, the Racers fell behind by as much as 10 points and never got closer than five.

The second set was more competitive, but it was the Lady Govs who asserted their dominance again late in the game. The Racers were ahead 16-13, when the Lady Govs made their run. They outscored the Racers 7-1 to take a 20-17 lead they did not relinquish.

The Racers improved from a dismal .098 to a .161 attack percentage in the second set. Comparatively, the Lady Govs produced .326 and .216 respectively in the two set wins.

“We are playing some of our better volleyball right now and it is really fun to watch,” Egbert said. “We are finally starting to click. We have a lot of young kids combined with a lot of seniors and upperclassmen, so it has been a process getting everyone working together as a unit and it is finally starting to click.”

The win improves the Lady Govs to 3-6 in the OVC. They have only four matches at home remaining this season. The next will be on Friday, Oct. 14, against UT Martin. The Lady Govs will play Murray State again at Murray for the last game of the regular season. TAS

» By MARLON SCOTT – mscott@my.apsu.edu

From Tuscaloosa, Ala. to Indianapolis, the Lady Govs volleyball team has been on the road since the season started. Unfortunately, instead of the kind of road trip people remember fondly when they are older, sipping coffee early on a Sunday, this has been the kind of brutal road trip that spawns nightmares and inspires bad movies starring grown-up kid stars from Nickelodeon.

The Lady Govs earned their sixth straight loss on the road during their first two conference matches against Eastern Kentucky (25-23, 19-25, 23-25, 23-25) and Morehead State (16-25, 25-21, 20-25, 17-25) Friday, Sept. 16 and Saturday, Sept. 17.

Both matches went to four sets, but ended in disappointment for the Lady Govs. Senior outside hitter Ilyanna Hernandez was a bright spot in both matches. She posted a season high 17 kills against EKU and was named Copies in a Flash Player of the Game. Hernandez added 11 more kills against Morehead.

Normally explosive junior outside hitter Nikki Doyle, struggled against EKU, producing seven errors in addition to 11 kills. She recovered against Morehead with 12 kills.

The Lady Govs played from behind most of the sets against Eastern Kentucky. Despite tying the game several times, they were only able to close successfully once, in the second set.

They did manage to battle EKU to 11 ties in the third set and 10 ties in the fourth. However, reminiscent of other matches this season, they were not able to consistently make the key consistent plays in the end to get the win.

Morehead proved they were the defending regular season champions with a second conference win against the Lady Govs. They produced 59 kills with an overall .258 attack percentage. Comparatively, the Lady Govs posted a .140 attack percentage and recorded 41 kills.

Sophomore Lauren Henderson put on an impressive defensive display in the losing effort with seven blocks. She was named the Copies ina Flash Player of the Game.

Otherwise, fans in Morehead may have thought they were watching a repeat of the sets against Eastern Kentucky.

The loss to Morehead marked the end of 13 straight matches on the road for the Lady Govs. On Friday, Sept. 23, they will begin OVC conference play against Eastern Illinois at home in the Dunn Center. The stay home will continue Saturday, Sept. 24 against SIU Edwardsville. TAS

» By MARLON SCOTT – mscott@my.apsu.edu

The Lady Govs’ leading scorer, junior outside hitter Nikki Doyle, averaged over 14 kills per match at the Butler Invitational in Indianapolis, Ind., but it was not enough to keep the team from being swept 0-3 in the tournament.

After losing to Central Michigan (1-3) and Butler (0-3) on Friday, Sept. 9, the Lady Govs were also defeated by Elon (1-3) on Saturday, Sept. 10.

Inconsistency offensively and errors at critical times were the theme for the Lady Govs in all three matches.

After the third loss in a row to Elon, Head Coach Bill Egbert said, “We fought hard today. However we made mental errors that cost us the match. We’ll have to keep working on that part of our game with conference starting next weekend.”

Doyle led the team with 44 total kills in the three matches. She was named Copies in a Flash Player of the Game in the first match against Central Michigan.

It took four sets for Central Michigan to defeat the Lady Govs (19-25, 25-22, 14-25, 27-29). Down two sets to one, the Lady Govs led the fourth set 23-17 and went on to get a set point at 24-21.

However, Central Michigan forced the game to overtime with a 24-24 tie and earned the win after the Lady Govs committed four attack errors.

Doyle produced 15 kills. Freshman middle blocker Hillary Plybon added 12 kills in the losing effort.

The Lady Govs looked to rebound in the second match against tournament hosts, the Butler Bulldogs, but were again unable to close the sets and were swept in three (25-17, 17-25, 24-26). The first set was the closest of the match.

The two teams tied 17 times before the Bulldogs finally earned the 27-25 win. A 7-2 run early in the second set was all the Bulldogs needed to put the set away.

The Lady Govs were held to just 10 totals kills compared to Butlers 20 in the second set.

After the Lady Govs got to set point 24-23 in the third set, the Bulldogs scored the last three points for the three-set sweep.

Doyle earned her second Copies in a Flash Player of the Game honor after posting 15 more kills. No other Lady Gov produced more than 10 kills in the match.

Elon posted a 62-55 advantage in kills to win the Lady Govs’ final game in four sets (23-25, 21-25, 29-27, 26-28). Three Lady Govs produced more than 10 kills in the game.

Doyle and Kayla Grantham, senior outside hitter, posted 14 kills. Fellow senior outside hitter Ilyanna Hernandez added 11 kills.

The three losses drop the Lady Govs to 2-9 overall. They will begin OVC conference play on the road against Eastern Kentucky Friday, Sept.16. Their home opener will be against Eastern Illinois Friday, Sept. 23. TAS

» By MARLON SCOTT – mscott@my.apsu.edu

They are the champions.

That is the Lady Govs volleyball team’s biggest difference as they enter the 2011-12 season. A new head coach, losing talented seniors, not being picked to finish first in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll, these are all things the Lady Govs have done many times before.

However, they finished last season with a 26-8 (14-4 OVC) record, won the OVC Championship for only the second time in program history and played in the first round in the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.

This means when the Lady Govs jumped above the net to smack a volleyball, turning it into a large white bullet ricocheting off the hard wood floor or dove on the same shiny surface and avoid the kill during the preseason, they did it with an extra confidence and conviction.

Instead of another season of hoping, they started with the belief last season was not a fluke.

They believe they will do it again.

They are the champions.

KEY LOSSES

For the third year in a row, the Lady Govs hit the court with a new head coach. Bill Egbert, who served as an assistant coach at Ole Miss for the last two seasons, was named the new head coach in March. He replaced interim head coach Haley Janicek after she resigned to devote time to her family in December.

“Preseason practices have been awesome,” Egbert said. “The kids are really excited. They are doing very well. I think we are going to have a great season.”

The Lady Govs also lost seniors Jessica Mollman, Taylor Skinner and Sarah Alisaleh. In addition to their leadership and experience on the court, Mollman and Skinner were the top two blockers on the team. The two formed a formidable wall that combined for over 160 blocks last season.

Alisaleh was the team’s senior setter. Leading the team with 1094 assists last season, finishing her career as the second all-time in assists for the program.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

One of the reasons the Lady Govs were picked to finish second in the OVC preseason poll is the team has 10 players returning from last season’s championship squad. On the top of that list offensively is junior outside hitter Nikki Doyle. Doyle was named MVP of last season’s OVC tournament. She also received All-OVC honors as well. She led the team with 435 kills and 495 points. This season she was named to the OVC preseason team.

“I’m feeling a lot more pressure actually. I’m not able to catch opponents by surprise, but we are learning a lot with this new coach,” Doyle said.

“I’ve learned so much with him already and it hasn’t even been the season yet. I’ve learned more defensive moves, how to hit better angles, how to hit higher. I think the whole team is learning a lot from this new coach and we are real excited.”

Doyle is one of five upperclassmen who returned to the team this season. Senior outside hitter Ilyanna Hernandez was behind only Doyle in kills and points. She produced 393 kills and 455 points last season.

Fellow senior Paige Economos will continue to produce both offense and defense for the team. Economos led the team in both digs and ser

vice aces. She recorded over 600 digs and 51 aces last season.

Will it be harder for these players to earn their second championship? Egbert does not think so.
“I personally think its easier because they know what its like to win, how it feels to win. So they want it more and they will do almost anything they can to get that feeling back,” Egbert said.

“I’m very driven. The girls are very driven. So we mesh very well together. I love that they want to win again. I love that they are willing to put in the work and time to be good enough again.” TAS

By MARLON SCOTT | Senior Staff Writer

The Lady Govs volleyball team had 26 wins under their belt before they travelled to Champaign, Ill., to play in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Volleyball Championship Saturday, Dec. 4. Nervous, excited and determined are probably just a few of the many emotions that swirled through the players’ minds as they donned their APSU red road uniforms and then walked on to the court in Huff Hall surrounded by a legion of people wearing Illini orange.

For three sets, the Lady Govs played to extend their remarkable season against the eighth ranked fighting Illini. However, despite their best efforts, the Lady Govs could not put together the pieces to defeat Illinois. The Lady Govs were swept 3-0 (19-25, 19-25 and 19-25) by the Illini.

According to APSU Sports Information, Lady Govs head coach Haley Janicek was proud of her team’s play against Illinois.

“Our girls showed a lot of tenacity out there, and they fought hard against a really good team,” Janicek said. “Illinois just outplayed us at certain times in the match, but all season long we talked about our girls getting better up until the very last game. They did that again and got better today.”

The Lady Govs play impressed their opponents.

“I really enjoy watching Austin Peay play,” said Illinois head coach Kevin Hambly. “I just think they played hard. They play great defense and were really scrappy. They do a lot of smart things and it was not fun to play against, but I enjoyed watching them play.”

Those who did not know Illinois was ranked eighth and had made the Sweet 16 11 times may have assumed the Lady Govs were the underdogs because of their size when the two teams took the court. However, Lady Gov senior Sarah Alisaleh was not intimidated by the Illinis’ greater size.

“Everyone is going to look and think we are really short compared to the other team, but what we always have to focus on is ourselves,” Alisaleh said. “We just need to focus on our side of the court, and not the other team or the jersey or how big they are. As long as we play our game, then we are going to do well.”

In their first NCAA appearance in program history, the Lady Govs kept the sets close. Illinois had their hands full as they battled through 16 ties and nine lead changes in the match. Each set came down to a key three-to-four point run. Illinois’ Colleen Ward was a difference maker with 17 kills.

Lady Gov junior Ilyanna Hernandez led the team with 10 kills. Redshirt sophomore Nikki Doyle and senior Jessica Mollman both added eight kills. Defensively, junior Paige Economos led the team with 22 digs.

After the Illini scored the first point of the match, the two teams battled to seven early ties in the first set. Tied 8-8, it was the Lady Govs who flinched first. The Illini went on a 4-0 run; the last two points were aces by Illinois sophomore Jackie Wolfe. Later, an ace by Economos cut the Illini lead to two, 15-17, but errors and a strong Illini defense kept the Lady Govs from closing the gap completely. Ward put the first set away with a kill followed by a serving ace. Illinois served five aces in the first set.

The Lady Govs serving improved in the second set. Both Economos and junior Kayla Grantham served aces early, but the rest of the set unfolded like the first. The two teams tied for the fifth time in the set at 11-11. This time, it was a 5-1 Illini run that took over the game. The Illini defense had an answer for the Lady Govs offensive attempts to catch up. Ward closed the second set more definitively than the first, scoring the last five Illini points with four kills and another ace. The Lady Govs went into the intermission after the second set down 2-0 but still positive.

“Our passing actually struggled a little bit more in game two, but as the game went on, we got better at attacking the ball out of system,” Janicek said. “We got a lot of kills out of system in game two, so that was something that helped us.”

Proof of the team’s positivity was evident in the effort the Lady Govs showed when they opened the third set. Down 1-2, they went on a 4-0 run to take an early 5-2 lead. The Lady Govs maintained the lead and forced Illinois to take a time out to slow their momentum when they went on another run and reached the score 8-4.

The timeout paid off for the Illini. Afterwards, they battered the Lady Govs on a 9-2 run to take a 13-10 lead. However, unlike the two previous sets, the Lady Govs were not done at this point. Grantham sparked the team when she went to the service line. Down 14-18, Grantham’s serve helped the Lady Govs score four straight points and tie the game 18-18.

The Illinois’ defense that held the Lady Govs at bay in the first two sets, inevitably resurfaced. The Lady Govs lost points on five attack errors, three of which were into blocks involving the hands of 6’1” Illinois senior, Johannah Bangert. Bangert had seven block assists in the match.

While the Lady Govs scored only one more point to reach 19 for the third set in a row, the Illini closed the game, ending their last 7-1 run with an ace for the third set in a row.

Janicek talked about the dramatic third set.

“There is no denying that we were the underdog walking into that match. After the timeout, our girls realized the situation we were in,” Janicek said. “We had three seniors out there that were playing very possibly their last match ever, and they did what they wanted to do. They left their hearts out there on the court.” TAS

By DAVID SCHERER | Staff Writer
The APSU Lady Govs volleyball team ended their eight-match win streak this weekend with a four set loss to Louisville at Louisville Arena, Saturday, Nov. 27.

This marked the end of the Lady Govs’ successful regular season. The post-season brings new foes awaiting the Lady Govs.

The first two sets were close from beginning to end, but the Cardinals were ultimately successful in dispatching the Lady Govs. Both teams used a pair of runs to keep it interesting, and the Cardinals used an 8-1 run to capture the first set victory.

APSU came out strong in the second set and utilized an 8-2 run at the beginning to jump ahead. They proceeded to score five service aces over a span of 10 points which helped them push their lead to nine and eventually hold the advantage to score the 25-18 set win.

In the third set, the Cardinals fought back and were able to take a 9-5 lead after reeling off five consecutive points.

They were able to maintain their lead until the end of the set when the Lady Govs used a 6-2 run to tie the set at 22-22, but the Cardinals scored three of the set’s final four points and were able to score the victory.

The fourth set was similar for the Lady Govs as they saw the Cardinals reel off eight straight points to increase their lead to 16-8. APSU fought back and was able to close to within two points at 23-21.

In the end, Louisville scored the match’s final two points and was the victory with a 25-21 set win.

According to APSU Sports Information, coach Haley Janicek believes the Lady Govs showed promise in a pressure packed environment.

“I believe the team showed a lot of tenacity today. They played in a tough environment against a good team. Our goals are still the same — to get better every day — and we did that.”

Junior Ilyanna Hernandez led the Lady Govs with 15 kills and a .297 attack percentage. Sophomore Nikki Doyle also had 10 kills and sophomore Alex Sain contributed 9.

Upon returning home, the Lady Govs learned they will be playing in Champaign, Ill. against No. 8 ranked Illinois Fighting Illini Friday, Dec. 3, at 7 p.m. in the NCAA Tournament. Illinois has a 14-6 conference record. TAS