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Austin Peay State University outside hitter Mikayla Powell earned the Atlantic Sun Conference’s and Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s Volleyball Player of the Award Tuesday. In addition, setter Kelsey Mead picked up the ASUN’s Setter of the Week honor. CLARKSVILLE, TN – After a week that saw her become the fourth Govs hitter to record 30 kills in a match, Austin Peay State University outside hitter Mikayla Powell earned the Atlantic Sun Conference’s and Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s Volleyball Player of the Award Tuesday.
In addition, setter Kelsey Mead picked up the ASUN’s Setter of the Week honor. Powell, from Overland Park, Kansas, powered the Govs to a 3-0 finish at the Lindenwood Invitational, finishing the event with 72 kills (5.54 per set) while notching a .380 attack percentage on her 158 attack attempts. After posting 18 kills in a three-set victory against Lindenwood Friday, she tied her career high with 24 kills in APSU’s five-set win against Indiana State the same day.
Powell saved her best for last with a career-best 30 kills against ULM. That 30-kill performance is one of only four in Austin Peay volleyball history and the first since Nikki Doyle’s record 34 kills against Middle Tennessee in 2012. She had one of Division I’s two 30-kill performances during the week and one of its four this season. After her big weekend in Lindenwood, Powell moved to 15th in Division I with 97 total kills, while her 3.88 kills per set ranks 64th in the division.
She ranks first in the Atlantic Sun in total kills and second in the league in kills per set. Mead, of Tallahassee, Florida, took over as the Govs’ primary setter as the team switched from a 6-2 to a 5-1 offense last weekend. She averaged 10.46 assists per set and had 12 kills, a team-best 50 digs (3.85 per set), and eight blocks.
Mead paced the Govs to a .257 team attack percentage and 13.92 kills per set. Against ULM, Mead notched a 49-assist, 21-dig double-double that included three kills. It followed her 54 assists and 16 digs against Indiana State, including career bests in kills (5) and blocks (5). It is the second time the ASUN Conference has named Powell its Player of the Week.
Mead’s ASUN Setter of the Week award is the first of her career. Austin Peay looks ahead to three matches in their home state this week. First up is a 5 p.m. (CT) Wednesday match at Chattanooga. The Govs then open their home schedule with the Stacheville Challenge, Friday-Saturday. Austin Peay faces Valparaiso in a 6:30 p.m., Friday home opener.
The Govs then face Big Ten foe Indiana in a 2:30 p.m., Saturday match.
