AUGUSTA, Ga. – Hosting their final regular-season match of 2016 in Christenberry Fieldhouse, the Augusta University women's volleyball team didn't drop a set in a 3-0 Peach Belt Conference win over the Columbus State Cougars. The Jaguars recorded their best hitting percentage of the season with a .351 mark in the 25-22, 25-13, and 25-14 win.
The Augusta Jaguars went 7-5 this season at home in the Berry with the win, moved to 16-13 overall and 7-8 in the PBC. Augusta owned both meetings, after they won a 3-1 road match at CSU (14-13, 5-12 PBC) on Sept. 16 earlier in the year.
The Jags sit seventh in the PBC in front of Columbus State. Read the full PBC standing here
Jags sophomore Blair Bolton and senior Jordan Bickett brought in 11 kills each, with Bickett adding eight digs and a .476 attack percentage. Senior Rachel Windle had eight kills and sophomore Savanna Gonzales seven kills and no errors for a .583 attack percentage.
Freshmen setters Sammie Baker and Payton Murchie shared assists, with Baker booking 23 and Murchie producing 15. Senior libero Catherine DeSilvester compiled four aces and 12 digs in the victory for the Jaguars.
Augusta out-blocked the Cougars five-to-two and had six aces to zero from CSU. Mary McCarty led Columbus with 14 kills and Abby King had 26 assists.
Set one was tied 7-7 and tight throughout the opening points, but the Cougars stole a three point lead. Augusta Head Coach Sharon Quarles called a timeout to regroup her Jags and the team overtook the match 15-13 with DeSilvester on serve. CSU called two timeouts in the dwindling minutes of set one, but Augusta held on for a 25-22 win.
The Jags posted a .306 hitting percentage in set one. The squad followed it with a .333 hitting percentage in set two and left no doubts and hit .455 in the third and final set.
Augusta has a busy weekend with three road matches in the PBC. The Jags play at Lander (Nov. 11), USC Aiken (Nov. 12), and Flagler (Nov. 13) to wrap up the regular season. The Flagler match is a makeup date after Hurricane Matthew washed out the original planned meeting. See full schedule by clicking here
Fans of Jaguar Athletics can subscribe to the email listserve by clicking here. Fans can follow Augusta University at www.AugustaJags.com and receive short updates on Facebook at Augusta University Athletics and on Twitter at @AugustaJags
-- 30 --