EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Austin Peay rallied from a set down to defeat  SIUE volleyball 17-25, 27-25, 25-14, 30-28 Saturday at the Vadalabene Center.

The Cougars fell to 8-13 overall and 4-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Austin Peay maintained its first-place standing in the OVC West Division with a 6-2 league record and a 9-15 mark overall.

SIUE's Kelsey Augustine turned in an outstanding performance in the middle with 13 kills, a .522 hitting percentage and a team-leading four blocks.

Taylor Held, Alicia Streetar, and Kristen Torre also finished with 11 kills each.

"We had a good balanced offense," said SIUE Head Coach Leah Johnson. "I'm very proud of how we were able to use every player and not just rely on one."

SIUE took set one with 12 kills, no attack errrors, and five service aces, including three aces from Cori Harris. Austin Peay then rebounded by winning the battle with two sets needing extra points to decide a victor. Nine tie scores and four lead changes left the Cougars and the Governors even after two sets.

Aubrey Marsellis led the Governors with six kills in the second set. She finished with 13 for the match.

Austin Peay's Jada Stotts led all hitters with 18, including eight in the deciding fourth set.

"On the flip side," added Johnson. "They were balanced as well but more terminal."

The Governors finished with 66 kills and a .338 hitting percentage.

"What we weren't doing was winning the long rally. They had the advantage in the long rallies," said Johnson.

The Cougars were able to keep Austin Peay's blockers from becoming an issue.

"They are one of the top blocking teams in the conference, and we held them to four blocks," said Johnson. SIUE finished with 5.5 blocks for the match.

The final set was even more back and forth and nail-biting than the second set. The two teams exchanged leads 10 times and tied each other 18 times during the set before Marsellis won the match with a kill on Austin Peay's second attempt at match point.

The same two teams will play again next Friday. This time the match is in Clarksville, Tenn., with the first serve set for 7 p.m.

"We need to be a little crisper. The urgency to win points in a row also needs to be there," said Johnson.