Bolton’s Match-High 18 Kills Not Enough In 3-2 Loss To Armstrong State

Bolton’s Match-High 18 Kills Not Enough In 3-2 Loss To Armstrong State

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Augusta University women's volleyball team battled the Armstrong State Pirates in a five-set thriller on Friday in Christenberry Fieldhouse, but dropped the Peach Belt Conference match 3-2 in the end.

Augusta University Athletics will celebrate 2016 Senior Day for women's volleyball this Saturday, Nov. 5 prior to the 2:00 p.m. against Flagler College in Christenberry Fieldhouse. Read a 2016 Senior Day preview by clicking here

Jags sophomore Blair Bolton had a match-high 18 kills on a 2.94 attack percentage and she assisted six blocks on Friday night. Senior Jordan Bickett recorded 13 kills and 16 digs, freshman Payton Murchie had 39 assists and 13 digs, and senior libero Catherine DeSilvester delivered 32 digs and an ace.

Freshman Jessica Hedrick notched eight kills, five digs, and five blocks. Armstrong recorded 14 total blocks to Augusta's 10 and won with a .193 attack percentage to the Jags' 0.98. ASU's Raegan Grooms led the squad with 16 kills and Carkey Eiken had 52 assists.

Armstrong is ranked fifth in the NCAA Southeast Region and sit third in the PBC standings, while the Jags are a game back at fifth in the league.

After Armstrong took set one 25-13, the Jags rolled to a 3-0 start to begin the second. An assisted block from the Pirates tied the set 4-4, but kills from Hedrick and Bickett boosted the Jags back up. The Jags were on set point 24-21 and held on to tie the match 1-1 with a 25-23 victory.

In set two, Augusta totaled five blocks after having zero in the first set. They used the momentum from set two and strolled to a 7-2 lead in the third set which led to a called timeout from the visiting team. The Pirates regrouped and survived a 25-20 win in set three.

Augusta led 17-10 in the fourth and won 25-21 – thanks to .351 attack percentage. In the final set, Bolton brought down three straight kills to open the fifth and an ace from DeSilvester put Augusta on top early.

The Pirates had seven kills on one error in set five and Augusta six kills to seven errors. Armstrong took the decisive set 15-9.

The Jaguars were originally scheduled to play at Armstrong State on Saturday, Oct. 8, but Hurricane Matthew forced a reschedule. Augusta plays at Armstrong this Monday, Nov. 7 for a 6:00 p.m. match in Savannah, Ga.

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