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GREENWOOD, S.C. – The Augusta University volleyball team played host Lander University in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament semifinal match on Saturday night and won 3-0 to advance to the championship match for the first time in program history.
Third-seeded AU, playing their second match of the day, were led once again by senior McKenzey Beck, who came just one kill shy of her second triple-double of the day with nine kills, 18 assists and 12 digs. Sophomore Chloe Allen led the team with 10 kills and added 12 digs while Holland Martin added 21 digs and Cheryke Brian-Garmos 17 assists.
The Jaguars were down 22-20 in the first set before winning five of the next six points, including the final three in a row. Senior Savanna Gonzales had two kills and the set was capped by a Victoria Wade kill and a 25-23 margin.
Lander led 18-17 in the second set before another run of four in a row for AU with kills from Gonzales, Beck and Allen. Beck and Jessica Hedrick all had kills in the final four Augusta points to win 24-21.
The third set was the least contested, but second-seeded Lander still held a 14-13 lead before Augusta went on their longest run of the night with eight straight points. Four different Jaguars provided kills to go with a pair of blocks in the 25-18 win.
Augusta hit .220 as a team with seven total blocks. Lander was held to a .126 percentage with five blocks.
Kyra Ross led the Bearcats with 11 kills and added 11 digs while Kaitlyn Krafka had 10 kills with nine digs. Hannah McManus led the team with 15 digs while Madilyn Reed added 30 assists.
Augusta will meet fifth-seeded Georgia College in Sunday's championship match at 1:00 pm. GC defeated top-seeded USC Aiken in the other semifinal.
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