Jaguars come back to defeat Anderson in five sets, advance to Sweet Sixteen
By Chris Rickerson | Sports editor
The Augusta University volleyball team came back to win a five-set thriller 3-2 over the Anderson Trojans in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Anderson, S.C., on Friday, Dec. 3.
The sixth-seeded Jaguars (24-8) started out strong in set one with a 3-0 lead, but the Trojans went on a 4-0 run of their own, tying the game 5-5. From there on the set was a tight battle, but AU senior Kylie Martin finished it off with a kill, winning the Jaguars set one 26-24.
Anderson, seeded second, went on a 10-3 run to start set two and dominated the whole way. The Trojans won set two 25-16 and tied the match 1-1.
In set three, AU started out with 3-0 lead, but similar to the second, the Trojans went on a 12-2 run and controlled set three the rest of the way, winning 25-18 and going ahead 2-1 in the match.
With the season on the line and the game tied 18-18 in set four, the Jaguars won 25-18 after their 7-0 run forced the Trojans to a fifth set.
AU’s momentum continued in the fifth set as the Jaguars began on a 4-0 run. AU Coach Sharon Quarles face filled with joy as the Jaguars came back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Trojans in the final set 15-11 and win the match 3-2.
Senior Chloe Allen led the Jaguars offensively with 15 kills, followed by Martin, who finished with 10. Senior Samantha Zittrauer led the Jaguars with 18 assists.
Defensively, senior Holland Martin led AU with 22 digs. Senior Alexis Diaz-Infante also held down the defensive side of the ball with 5 blocks.
The Jaguars will face top-seeded Lenior-Rhyne (24-7) in the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship on Saturday. Dec. 4, at the Abney Athletic Center in Anderson. The match will begin at 5 p.m. In October, AU defeated Lenoir-Rhyne in five sets in Milledgeville.
Contact Chris Rickerson at crickerson@augusta.edu.
AU’s Kylie Martin (13) goes for the kill, while teammate Alexis Diaz-Infante (21) watches. (photo by Chris Rickerson) At the top of the page, Martin, Diaz-Infante, Holland Martin (14) and Radka Brichakova celebrate their win in the regional semifinal. Ally Thees (1) celebrates on the court. (photo by Robert Davis, special to the Bell Ringer)
