Augusta rallies to defeat Lander, wins PBC Tournament championship
By Domonic Macias | Sports writer
In a highly anticipated battle for the title of Peach Belt Conference Tournament champion, the Augusta Jaguars emerged victorious over the Lander Bearcats in five tense sets on Nov. 18 at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
AU won by set scores of 25-20, 21-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-12. It was AU’s 13th straight win and 26th in its last 27 matches.
The Jaguars (27-4) completed a sweep of the PBC regular-season and conference tourney championships. For Coach Sharon Quarles’ Jaguars, it marks the first time in school history that AU has won both the regular-season and tournament titles. AU now has won five straight PBC titles. The first three were conference tournament championships, followed by the regular-season crown last year.
“We played with a lot of heart and determination,” said Quarles afterwards.
The Jaguars employed a strong attack from the start against the Bearcats. This charge was led by 6-foot-4 sophomore Kayli Cleaver, who put up an impressive five kills in the first set. The Bearcats struggled to find their rhythm, and Augusta won the opening set.
“(Assistant) Coach (Deja) Moorer kept reminding me that I just needed to keep reaching and stay up,” said Cleaver, whose striking has been outstanding of late.
Another key player was middle blocker Jada Suguturaga, who had been slowed by an ankle sprain and had played sparingly the last three weeks. She came off the bench to platoon with Savannah Davis and gave the Jaguars a strong blocking presence.
“This is what we have practiced for all season,” the senior from Jordan, Utah, said. “This is what we have wanted all season.”
The second set was the pivotal moment for the Bearcats. The key players were setter Lauren Dow and outside hitter Blondie Penaflor, perhaps Lander’s most athletic player. The Bearcats were able to implement a strong attack during that second set to pull away from the Jaguars. Lander won the second set by four points.
“You just have to keep pushing through and go in with that mindset of we can do this,” said Dow.
Penaflor, whose team had gone through four tough sets with USC Aiken in the semifinal, knew her team faced a challenge in the final.
“We knew playing teams like Aiken and Augusta they were not going to give it to us easy,” Penaflor said. “We came in knowing we have to get the job done.”
The third set was much like the second, as the Bearcats took a strong offensive approach. Lander led Augusta by five points halfway through the set. The Jaguars responded by adjusting their blocking to close the gap within two points of Lander before senior Ally Thees had to be taken off due to injury after a collision with a teammate Abigail LeVines near the net stanchion.
The Jaguars continued to fight with the help of Marah Zenner, who served effectively, and Suguturaga, who gradually helped change the match at the net. Still, ultimately, the Bearcats were able to hold off the Jaguars, winning the third set by two points.
Now AU needed to dig down deep to come back and get the double of winning both the regular-season and tourney crowns.
“I just needed to go in and do what was needed for the team,” said Zenner, who had played sparingly before Saturday’s final.
Leading 2-1 in sets, the Bearcats’ main strength in the previous two sets were their ability to capitalize on their attacks and not making as many errors. The key player in those two sets was setter Sophia Schneider with her ability to play the backcourt well and to serve consistently.
“My coach kept reminding me that I could serve more aggressively, and I took that advice to try and to close that gap in the earlier sets,” said Lander’s Schneider.
But, in the fourth, the Jaguars were able to excel in their blocking , and that gave Augusta the fourth-set win by four points.
Meanwhile, AU’s standout Jazmyn Wheeler had struggled a bit early, but she came on strong in the fourth and fifth sets to give her usual high-level performance that has earned her two straight PBC player-of-the-year awards.
“I really was just focusing on my other areas of play, whether that be defense or serving,” said Wheeler, who currently is nationally ranked at 22nd in points per set, 25th in kills per set and 30th in total attacks.
Throughout the match, Wheeler made diving digs and tried to shake off an uncharacteristically poor night on attack. Yet when it mattered, she was money. Wheeler, who found her rhythm in the fourth set, finished with 14 kills and 19 digs.
Now the match would come down the 15-point final set—just as it had on Nov. 8 when the Jaguars got a key win on the same floor.
The Jaguars, now 3-1 against Lander on the season, trailed 8-3 in the fifth set before going on an electrifying 12-4 run to win the match. Cleaver began the run with a kill off a set by Janvier Buggs. AU’s Dariana Luna would then get three points off her serve. Then two kills by Sophia Kruczko and one by Wheeler preceded an amazing kill by Buggs off an assist from Wheeler. That took things to match point.
Perhaps it was no small irony that senior specialist Thees, who was already nursing a sore back before her nasty collision with LeVines, served out the victory for AU. When it was over, Thees fell to the floor as if in prayer, while teammate Wheeler bent over in relief. The rest of the Jaguars ran onto the court to celebrate .
The Jaguars, currently ranked second in the Southeast Region, were led by Eden, Cleaver, Kruckzo and Wheeler, who shrugged off a recent cold and came through in the clutch. Eden, named the tournament most valuable player, had 10 kills and 10 blocks. Cleaver and Kruczko each had 14 kills.
Buggs, the versatile Jaguar setter, added 41 assists to go with several key service moments, and libero Luna had 31 digs. Buggs again and again came up with the proper set to help AU hit at a .157 clips—compared to .105 for the Bearcats. Luna, ranked 14th nationally in digs per set, continued her fantastic defensive play, throwing her body everywhere on the floor and saving shot after shot from Lander’s outstanding front line, especially first all-conference selection Katie Miller.
Eden, who is ranked sixth nationally in blocks per set, and Kruczko were named to the all-tournament team.
“I kept working for my teammates,” said an excited Eden, the senior accounting major from Mulberry, Fla., whose grandmother, mother and sister were in attendance Saturday. “I did everything for them and being able to win this award is nothing short of a blessing.”
On the other side, Miller was sensational for the Bearcats. She led Lander (27-6) with 22 kills. Lander, ranked third in the Southeast, got 48 assists from Lauren Dow, who also served effectively all match. Miller and Dow were named to the all-tournament team. Olivia Dow had 12 kills, and Penaflor 10.
Both teams were a bit nervy on their serves. Lander had nine service errors, compared to eight for Augusta.
“You start to figure a team out when you play them three times, and we are going to keep that close to the vest going into regionals,” said Bearcats Coach Jeff Reynolds.
Middle hitter Annie Holesinger says Lander is still hungry.
“We have a new mindset going into the regionals; we are hungry for a championship and wins,” Holesinger said.
Also named to the all-tourney team were Emily Lammers of USC Aiken and Jordan Berglin of Flagler, both of whom excelled in the semifinals.
Both Lander and AU will find out how they are seeded on Monday, Nov. 20, with the NCAA Division II selection show at 7:30 p.m. The NCAA will announce the 64-team field at that time. USC Aiken (16-10) also should get an invitation among PBC teams.
The NCAA will also determine where the regional will be held. Augusta and Wingate are the top two candidates for that in the Southeast. The regional tournament will be held Nov. 30 through Dec. 2.
Contact Domonic Macias at dmacias@augusta.edu.
Janvier Buggs of Augusta University gets the touch kill as the Jaguars defeat Lander University in five sets. At the top of the page, Sophia Kruczko delivers one of her 14 kills for the Jaguars. (photos by Paula Toole, AU Athletics)
AU’s Madelyn Eden, who had 10 kills and 10 blocks, was named the Peach Belt Conference Tournament most valuable player. Here Eden hits over Lander’s Christina Aguayo (7). The senior from Mulberry, Fla., also sang the national anthem before the match. She is sixth in the country in blocks per set. (photo by Paula Toole, AU Athletics)
The Jaguar players and coaches storm the court after AU scored the championship point in the hard-fought match. For the first time in school history, Augusta had both the PBC regular-season and tournament championships. (photo by Paula Toole, AU Athletics)
Kayli Cleaver (11) was clutch all match long, getting a career-high 14 kills for the Jaguars. Here, Cleaver attempts to shoot past Lander’s Blondie Penaflor (4) and Lauren Dow (5). (photo by Paula Toole, AU Athletics)
Dariana Luna, Augusta’s libero, was everywhere on the floor, especially in the final set, to help the Jaguars edge the Bearcats in the PBC Tournament championship match. Luna, a native of Caracas, Venezuela, finished with 31 digs. (photo by Paula Toole)
Ally Thees (1), playing with a sore back and colliding with teammate Abigail LeVines near the net stanchion during the match, would come back to play and serve out the AU victory. The senior from Fort Mill, S.C., finished with 14 digs and a service ace. (photo by Paula Toole, AU Athletics)
