Redhawks Season Ends with 3-0 Loss to Lady Govs :: 5th seed Redhawks drop OVC Tournament quarterfinal match against 4th seed Lady Govs

5th seed Redhawks drop OVC Tournament quarterfinal match against 4th seed Lady Govs

Nov. 20, 2008

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (Thursday, November 20, 2008) – A season that started with so much promise and expectations came to a close for the Redhawks volleyball team as they fell to Austin Peay in straight sets 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-17) in the quarterfinals of the Ohio Valley Conference volleyball tournament. The fifth seeded Redhawks came out flat and the fourth seed Lady Govs made them pay for it as they defeated the Redhawks for the third time this season.

After recording the games first point on a combined block by Kim Unnerstall and Karleigh DeLong the Lady Govs (22-10) would not rail throughout the three sets. They used a 6-1 run to grab an early 12-5 lead. The Redhawks (13-14) to pull within two points, 16-14 capped by an Aubrey Dondlinger kill. Despite their best efforts the Redhawks could not overcome the lead the Lady Govs built earlier and dropped the opening set.

The Redhawks mustered an attack percentage of .073 while the Lady Govs finished with a .204 percentage in the opening stanza.

It didn’t get any easier for the Redhawks in set two as they quickly fell behind 14-5. The Redhawks could only manage to cut the lead to four 14-10 thanks to 5-0 run. However the Lady Govs closed out the set with two-straight kills by Jessica Mollman for the nine-point victory.

The Redhawks again struggled from the attack line as they recorded just nine kills and hit .081. The Lady Govs conversely recorded 16 kills with just three attack errors for a .394 attack percentage.

In the deciding set the Lady Govs jumped ahead 4-1 and extended that lead to their largest lead of the set 15-7. The Redhawks responded with a 6-2 run but would not get any closer. The Lady Govs closed out the set and the game with three-straight kills to move on to the OVC Tournament semifinals to face regular season champion Tennessee Tech.

The Redhawks committed just two attack errors in the third set while recording 12 kills for a .370 attack percentage. The Lady Govs however finished with 20 kills for a .462 attack percentage in the set. For the game the Lady Govs finished with a .339 percentage and held the Redhawks to a .152 attack percentage.

Dondlinger, who was named First Team All-OVC on Wednesday, ended her Redhawks career with a match-high 13 kills. She also added eight digs and hit .258 attack percentage.

Emily Hughes had six kills and led the team with .312 attack percentage. She committed just one attack error.

Sarah Barth led the team and tied for the team lead with 23 assists.

Molly Davis led the team defensively with a match-high 15 digs. She extended her streak of double-digit dig matches to 20-straight games. She ends the season with 1,624 career digs, just three digs behind Jill Stephens for No. 2 on the school’s career charts and 13 behind Leslie Caughman for the all-time lead.

The Lady Govs had four players finish in double-digits in kills led by 2nd Team All-OVC selection Stephanie Champine who had 11 kills. Kirstin Distler finished with a double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs. She did not commit a single attack error for a .611 attack percentage. Taylor Skinner had a game-high attack percentage with a .625 mark with 10 kills and no attack errors.