AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Jaguar volleyball team improved to 6-1 on the season with two non-conference victories over the Carson-Newman Eagles and the Paine College Lions on Saturday in the final day of the 2014 GRU Augusta Invitational in Christenberry Fieldhouse.
In day one of the tournament, the UNC Pembroke Braves trumped the Paine Lions 3-0, before the Jaguars held off Emmanuel 3-1. To begin play on Saturday, Emmanuel blanked Paine 3-0 in the 10:00 a.m. match, UNCP won a 3-2 match over Carson-Newman and UNCP beat Emmanuel 3-2.
The Jags met the Carson-Newman Eagles in the 2:00 p.m. match and prevailed in three straight sets. Freshman Kali Boatwright posted a match-high 11 kills and added 10 digs. Senior Kristen Koch had 10 kills and seven digs, while Cat Desilvester (19 digs) and Maggie Darling (12 digs) assisted with the offensive set up.
In set one, the Jags hit .344 as a team, posting 12 kills to one error. The Jaguars had a .181 hitting percentage to C-N's .061, notched 11 service aces and had nine blocks to the Eagles' two.
After taking set one with ease 25-15, the Jags found themselves in a 21-all tie with C-N. Katie Beresford had a solo block to put GRU on top by one, resulting in a C-N timeout. Out of the whistle, Boatwright carded a service ace for the set. In a back-and-forth set three, freshman Paige Elliott stayed on serve for seven consecutive points to will GRU to a 3-0 victory.
GRU took on crosstown rival Paine College in the final match to take a 3-0 victory. Elliott enjoyed another long run on the service line to lead the Jags to a 25-7 set one win. The Lions hit their best hitting percentage in set two (.278), but a .545 from GRU gave them the edge (14 kills to two errors). Tied at 12-all in set three, Maggie Darling put GRU on top with a kill to the left side and a Koch service ace increased it by two. Paine tied it at 16-all on an ace of their own, but GRU scored the next four and never looked back.
The Jags play a single non-conference at Limestone in Gaffney, S.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 7:00 p.m.
