By Ceara Hester and Ben Marshall |ContributorsAU's Savanna Gonzales reached a milestone on Friday, Sept. 7 as the Jaguar volleyball team downed Catawba 25-16, 25-18, 25-17 in the Augusta-USC Aiken Tournament at Christenberry Fieldhouse.The Jaguars went on to split their two matches the next day, losing to Carson-Newman (19-25, 23-25, 20-25) and beating West Alabama in five (21-25, 19-25, 25-15, 25-22, 15-8), but it was Gonzales' 1,000 kill against Catawba that was the highlight of the weekend. The senior outside-hitter finished the match with 10 kills and 12 digs. McKenzey Beck added 16 assists, eight kills and eight digs."It was awesome," Gonzales said afterwards. "It's been a great four years."Her coach put the accomplishment in perspective."Now she's a sixth rotation outside-hitter," said AU Coach Sharon Quarles of Gonzales. "It's the first time she's started here where she plays front row and back row. She's been known for back row, and how she's actually playing all the way around."Catawba Coach Ginger Hamric saw places where her team could improve."It all boils down to passing and serving," Hamric said. "We have to serve a little tougher and pass a little better."The next day, AU started with the loss to Carson-Newman. With hitting percentages of .146, .041 and .237, the Jags were just below Carson-Newman’s percentage in each set. Beck, the senior setter, led the team in kills with eight and assists with 17, while junior setter Cheryke Brian-Garmos posted 15 assists and two aces.The final match for the Jags was against West Alabama. Facing elimination, they won the third and fourth sets. With each team winning two sets, the match went into a fifth set where the Jags pulled out the win by seven points.Against West Alabama, Gonzales had 10 kills and 17 digs. Sophomore outside-hitter Alyssa Frazier added 12 kills, three blocks and two digs, while Beck had 15 assists and eight kills. Brian-Garmos had a team-high 25 assists.Up next for the Jaguars (9-2) are two matches in Tigerville, S.C., on Saturday, Sept. 15, when they play Southern Wesleyan and North Greenville. Update: Those matches have been cancelled because of Hurricane Florence.The next home matches will be Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. against Clark Atlanta and Friday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. for the first conference game of the season, against Flagler.For more information, contact Ceara Hester at cehester@augusta.edu and Ben Marshall at bemarshall@augusta.edu