GREENWOOD, S.C. – GRU Augusta forced a deciding fourth set against Lander Tuesday night, but were outlasted by the Bearcats 3-1 in a Peach Belt Conference match in Horne Arena.
Lander (13-8, 4-7 PBC) rattled off the first two sets with back-to-back 25-17 victories. The Jags (6-18, 1-12) got double kills to begin the set from junior Kristen Koch. Koch ended the day with a double-double of her own with 15 kills and 14 digs. GRU dropped the lead at 10-9, but regained it on a Bearcat attack error. Up 20-15, GRU held off LU and scored their final two points on a Chandler Mass kill and a Bearcat error.
In a must-win set four, GRU Augusta went down 1-0, but kept close a game intact. A four-point lead was the largest advantage held by either team in the final set. Tied at 18-all, the game rallied from point-to-point and the Jags scored two with LU on match point, but Tarryn Angermeier's kill gave the Bearcats the win.
LU outhit the Jaguars .193 to .127 and had 10.0 blocks to the Jags' 8.0. Tuttle willed the Jaguar offense with 16 kills, while Koch added 15 and senior Jenna Keeler 10. Mass had a match-high 44 assists and Catherine DeSilvester had 24 digs while libero Maggie Darling added 20.
Angermeier led the Bearcats and the night with 17 kills. Jessica Register had 42 assists and Kiki Hennessey had 27 digs. The Jags host parent's weekend this Saturday in Christenberry Fieldhouse to face the Armstrong Pirates at 2:0 p.m. and the Converse Valkyries at 4:00 p.m.