Box Score MURRAY, Ky. – Belmont volleyball simply wouldn't be denied Thursday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the 2014 OVC Tournament as the Bruins defeated Austin Peay in four sets at Racer Arena.
With action tied at nine early on in the opening set, APSU used a 12-3 run in order to take a commanding, 21-12, advantage. That deficit would soon evaporate as Belmont (18-13) roared back, tallying 13 of the next 15 points as the Bruins edged APSU, 25-23.
Trailing 17-13 in the second stanza, BU once again rallied as the Bruins tallied eight of the next 12 points to knot the set at 21.
After twice being denied the set, the third try proved to be the charm for Belmont as a bad set by Austin Peay (14-19) gave the Bruins a 27-25 win and the Bruins went into the intermission up two sets to none.
Tied at 11 midway through the third set, four consecutive BU points gave the Bruins some breathing room and forced a Lady Gov timeout.
APSU regrouped out of the huddle and came back with a vengeance, tallying six of the next seven points in order to take the lead, 17-16.
With Belmont up 20-19 after a kill by Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan.), the Lady Govs took control of the set the rest of the way as APSU went on a 6-2 run and a kill by Jada Stotts gave Austin Peay the set, 25-22, and denied the Bruins their fifth consecutive sweep.
With the fourth stanza knotted at 18, the 3-0 Bruin run broke the stalemate.
With Belmont's advantage trimmed to one, 23-22, a kill by Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) and a APSU hitting error gave the set, 25-22, and match, 3-1, to the Bruins.
The outside hitting duo of Person and Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) led the way for the Bruins offensively as Person finished with 18 kills and eight digs while Gable tallied 17 kills off a .368 hitting percentage.
Overall, the Bruins outhit APSU .281 to .210 as setter Emma Price (Fort Mill, S.C.) led with a .857 hitting percentage as the freshman put down six kills on seven attempts. The redshirt freshman also recorded a match-best 39 assists.
Defensively, libero Emily Richards (Penfield, N.Y.) led BU with 16 digs while Alex Martin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) finished with four blocks, including a pair of solo attacks.
Belmont returns to action tomorrow in the semifinals of the OVC Tournament as the Bruins are set to face No. 6 seed Eastern Illinois. EIU upset No. 3 seed Eastern Kentucky in five sets earlier in the day. The contest is set to begin at 4:30 p.m. CT. at Racer Arena.
