MOBILE, Ala. – The Spring Hill College (SHC) Sandy Badgers beach volleyball team rolled to a 4-1 victory over the Austin Peay State University (APSU) Governors (2-3) on Sunday afternoon at the Jim & Betty Walsh Beach Volleyball Facility.
 
The Badgers clinched the victory with a thrilling 2-1 victory on the Number 4 Court as Emily Greim and Catherine Milwee rallied back to win the second set 21-14 after falling 21-17 in the first set. In the tie-breaking third set, the Badgers found themselves trailing 13-10, but stormed back to win the set 17-15 after a potentially match-winning point for APSU at 14-12 was reversed and called long after an inspection of the mark by the referee.
 
Spring Hill 4, Austin Peay 1
 
1. Ginny Gerig/Cecily Gable (APSU) def. Julie Vujnovich/Payton Gidney (SHC) 21-14, 12-21, 15-10
2. Taylor Hurst/Caroline Herrera (SHC) def. Jenna Panning/Haley Turner (APSU) 21-19, 21-19
3. Brittany Bilotti/Sarah Senft (SHC) def. Caroline Waite/Brooke Moore (APSU) 21-17, 21-14
4. Greim/Milwee (SHC) def. Ashley Slay/Cori Theiss (APSU) 17-21, 21-14, 17-15
5. Emmarose Neibert/Emily Sullivan (SHC) def. Kaylee Taff/Chloe Stitt (APSU) 21-14, 21-17
Ext. Allison Weimer/Patty Blood (SHC) def. Claire Darland/Nina Korfhage (APSU) 21-17, 21-19
 
After the day's events, SHC head coach Shawn Taylor liked his team's energy and focus at the end of a long weekend of competition. "I am very pleased with the way we came out and competed," he said. "Austin Peay gave us a good challenge. I was a little nervous about our stamina after playing the last two days, but we knew Austin Peay would be in the same boat. When we minimized our mistakes and took aggressive swings, I felt like we were able to do a good job of dictating the outcome. I think the crowd had a large impact on our energy level and lifted the team. Finishing the weekend 3-2 is a great start to our season, but we will take the next couple of weeks to address some things and look forward to our next opportunity to compete."
 
The Badgers (3-2) will next visit Montgomery, Ala., on Friday, March 16, for a tri-match hosted by Huntingdon College beginning at 2 p.m. against the host Hawks (1-4) and followed at 4 p.m. with a match versus the Lincoln Memorial University Railsplitters (1-0).