Aiken, S.C. – The Augusta University Volleyball team defeated USC Aiken in straight sets (25-15, 25-14, 28-26) in the second round of the Peach Belt Tournament. The Jaguars are now 26-8 on the season and advance to the Tournament Final for the second straight year, while the Pacers fall to 25-5 on the season.
Augusta was led by Nicolette Ramos on offense, who picked up 11 kills in the contest. Madison Malloch hit an incredible .400 on the day, laying down 10 kills in the effort. Samantha Zittrauer led the team in assists by dishing out 19 during the match with Payton Murchie close behind totaling 17.
Holland Martin picked up 15 digs in the match to lead the defense, while Jessica Hedrick totaled five blocks in the win.
Augusta cruised through the first two sets, winning 25-15 and 25-14. The Jaguars were solid, hitting .224 in the first set and .318 in the second, committing only six attack errors combined. That stood in stark contrast to the Pacers, who had more attack errors than kills in the first two sets.
All of that changed in the third set as the teams played a back-and-forth affair. USCA had set point at 24-23 following a kill from Alie Smith, but Augusta responded with a kill from Ramos to even the score. USCA had a second set point at 26-25 following a Jags attack error, but again Ramos delivered for the squad, getting a kill on that point and another two serves later to deliver the match to the Jaguars 28-26
The Jags play the winner of the Flagler v. Lander match for the tournament title, tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. in Aiken, S.C.
