St. Augustine, Fla. – In their first conference match of the year, the Augusta Jaguars Volleyball team came away with a 3-2 win over the Flagler Saints. The Jags improve to 12-3 overall and 1-0 in PBC play. Flagler drops to 8-6 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
The Jaguars were led offensively by Nicolette Ramos' 17 kills and .389 hitting percentage. Kylie Martin picked up another double-double with 15 kills and 10 digs. She also led the squad with four service aces.
On the defensive side, Augusta saw Jessica Hedrick lead the way with four blocks. Holland Martin, led in digs with 15 followed closely by Chloe Allen and Payton Murchie with 14. Murchie earned a double-double as well, adding a team leading 30 assists to her dig total.
In the first set, the Saints jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the Jags threw down six unanswered points early on. Augusta managed to hold the lead throughout the remainder of the set, mixing point trade-offs with short three and four point runs to keep their conference foe at bay. Flagler managed to bring the score within four late, but back-to-back kills by Hedrick and Nedu Evans closed out the first for the Jags 25-19
Both teams battled evenly through the first half of the second set, with Augusta holding a narrow two point lead at the halfway point. With the score 14-12 would go on a 7-1 run which included five in a row. The Jaguars allowed the home squad only five points through the second half of the set as they breezed through to a 25-17 win, capped off with a textbook kill from Kylie Martin.
Set three would be a hard fought battle for both teams. The saints would stave off defeat though notching a 25-23 win. Both squads opened the set with 3-0 runs to keep it tied. Flagler picked up another three unanswered points to make it 6-3. The Jaguars fought right back however to knot the score up at 10-10. Both teams continued to trade points throughout the set, with Augusta managing to take a lead at 18-15 before seeing it vanish due to untimely errors. Tied 21-21 late, Flagler put together consecutive points to take a two point lead allowing them to trade points to close the set out.
Flagler would carry the momentum of set three into the fourth, as they dominated play with a 25-15 win. Both squads opened play evenly match with the Saints holding a two point lead through the first 10 points. Flagler would keep Augusta in check however throughout the set, as they copied the game plan of the Jags from the first set, stringing together short runs of scoring to build the lead, win the set, and force a fifth and deciding set.
In the final set, Augusta denied the comeback with a 15-11 win. The Jaguars set the tone for the set early, opening up with a 5-1 lead. Flagler battled back to within one forcing the visitors to burn a timeout at 9-8 to regroup. The break was just what Augusta needed as they knocked out back-to-back points to force Flagler to take a timeout of their own. Augusta stayed strong coming out of the break closing the set on a 4-2 run with another kill by Kylie Martin as the final nail.
Augusta will return to action on Friday, October the 11th as they head off to the PBC/SAC Crossover to face Mars Hill on their home court at 6:00 p.m.