COLUMBUS, Ga. – The Jaguar volleyball team took care of the Columbus State Cougars 3-1 in their first Peach Belt Conference road test of the 2014 season Wednesday night in the Lumpkin Center.
The Jaguars (9-2, 2-1 PBC) entered the match ranked first in the league in service aces and aces per set, and they didn't disappoint at Columbus State (3-6, 0-1 PBC) as they racked up eight and added seven blocks.
An attack error from CSU gave the Jags the first point of the night and back-to-back kills from Katie Beresford and Kali Boatwright put them up 3-0. The Cougars cut their deficit to two at three different times in set one, but were never able to overcome 12 Jaguar kills for a 25-20 loss. Junior-setter Alyssa Latham assisted five different Jaguars for kills in the Jags' final nine points of the set.
The Jags recovered from an opening set-two service error, to build an eight-point lead and never look back for a 25-18 win. GRU posted a .200 hitting percentage behind 15 kills in set two.
Up two sets, GRU gave the Cougars two points on a blocking error and ball-handling error. Senior Kristen Koch, who entered the game ranked seventh in the PBC for kills, provided another for GRU's first point. Six errors from the Cougars let the Jags even things at five-all and take a two-point lead. The score was tied eight different times at the conclusion of set three. Out of a GRU timeout, Koch put the Jags on match point with a kill from Latham. Three consecutive CSU points resulted in another GRU timeout, but the Cougars rallied from a 25-all score to force a set four with a 27-25 win.
GRU struck first in the fourth set and built a 13-7 lead on a Maggie Darling service ace. CSU stole the momentum with a 6-0 run of their own to tie it 13-all. The teams rallied to tie the score five more times to close the set, but back-to-back Boatwright kills and two CSU errors gave GRU a 3-1 victory.
Ranking third in the PBC for service aces per set, Boatwright notched a double-double with 15 kills and 16 digs for GRU. Koch followed with 14 kills, 16 digs, and Katie Beresford had 11 kills with three blocks. There 22 tied scores, but GRU posted a .161 hitting percentage to CSU's .068 to win the day. Latham had a match-high 37 assists and Darling added 22 digs.
The Jags play at rival USC Aiken this Friday, Sept. 26 at 7:00 p.m. in the Convocation Center.