AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Jaguar volleyball team hosted their 2014 GRU Augusta Tri-Match and defeated rival USC Aiken 3-1 before beating Claflin 3-0 on Saturday, Oct. 25 in Christenberry Fieldhouse. The Jags move 20-7, and 9-5 in the Peach Belt Conference.
The Jaguars met rival USC Aiken, ranked second in the Peach Belt Conference, to begin the tri-match. GRU fell 28-26 in set one, only hitting .089 to Aiken's .255. Set one's largest point margin was four, with each team answering back and forth. USCA's 19 kills to the Jags' 11 was too much in the opener.
The next three sets were the Jaguars. After evening the match 1-1 with a set-two, 25-22 win, the Jags continued their run.
In set-three win, each team recorded a .000 hitting percentage with nine kills and nine errors. GRU let the Pacers enjoy a 4-0 run to start, but the Jags stayed in it and rallied to keep it tight for an eventual 17-all tie. A service error from Aiken's Ashley Diedrich evened things again at 22. GRU used back-to-back blocks to take a 23-21 lead where they hung on 25-21.
Set four reflected the first, as both teams would not quit to take the score into extra points for the second time of the match. Down 23-21, GRU Head Coach Sharon Quarles called a timeout. Out of the pause, the Jags tied it 23-all with freshman Paige Elliott on serve – forcing USCA into a timeout. Netted at 23-all, the Jags' final points came from senior Maggie Darling, who provided a kill and crucial ace for the set and match.
Senior Kristen Koch paced all scorers with 17 kills for the Jags and 10 digs. Darling added 13 kills and eight digs, Alyssa Latham had 28 assists and 16 digs, and the team recorded a .111 attack percentage. USCA had 13 service errors to GRU's three.
In match two of the tri-match, the USCA Pacers downed Claflin 3-0 (28-26, 25-16, and 25-17).
The Jaguars cruised in set one posting a .231 attack percentage and winning 25-18. Claflin posted just a .053 attack percentage with four errors. In set two the Jaguars were down early to Claflin 10-5, but rallied and found a way to win 26-24. The Jaguars made it easy on themselves in set three posting a .280 attack percentage and cruising to a 25-15 win and a 3-0 match victory.
Leading the Jaguars was senior Maggie Darling who finished with 10 kills and 1 block. Freshman Kali Boatwright posted 10 kills of her own while fellow freshman Paige Elliott had seven kills, one block and one service ace. Senior Kristen Koch posted eight kills and 16 digs for the Jaguars.
The Panthers were led by Chelcey Foster who posted seven kills and a .238 attack percentage. Lydia Wise had five kills and one service ace while Bria Bronston had four kills and one blocked shot.
The Jaguars will next host another Peach Belt Conference match against Montevallo on Tuesday, Oct. 28, here at the Christenberry Fieldhouse in Augusta, Ga.
GRU Augusta hosts the Montevallo Falcons on Tuesday, Oct. 28 for a 6:00 p.m. match in Christenberry Fieldhouse. Last time out, the Jags came back from a 2-0 deficit to knock off the Falcons on Oct. 1. LIVE STATS
