Jaguars' volleyball team defeats Pacers in four sets and improves to 2-2
By Jack Johnson | Sports writer
The Augusta University Jaguars defeated arch-rival USC Aiken in four sets in Peach Belt Conference volleyball on Tuesday night, March 16, at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
The Jaguars (2-2,. 2-2) started the match off hot with a commanding win in the first set. The Pacers saw a number of unforced errors on their side of the net, helping Augusta to take the first set 25-15.
The second set was tighter as Aiken proved to be a formidable opponent. With a series of blistering kills, the Pacers were able to take the second set 25-22.
In the end, however, the Jaguars proved to be too much and ended up taking the final two sets by scores of 25-23 and 25-19, respectively.
The Jaguars’ defense proved to be overwhelming as the team combined for a total of 11 blocks, compared to Aiken’s three blocks for the entire match. On top of excellent defense, the Jaguars also showed their mental toughness as they only had six serving errors and 25 hitting errors for the game.
On the offensive end, Kylie Martin carried the Jaguars with 12 kills while senior captain Chloe Allen contributed eight kills of her own. Sophomore Samantha Zittrauer led the team in assists in the match with 19 while Kassie Till added 13 assists.
After Saturday’s loss at UNC Pembroke, the Jaguars were able to respond in a very positive manor by defeating a tough Aiken team.
“The Pembroke game was a tough loss for us,” Martin said. “We came out really strong, but Pembroke adjusted well to what we were doing. We played down to their scrappiness and let it beat us. I think against Aiken we were better about playing through long rallies and putting more balls away.”
Martin played well for the Jaguars, posting her second most kills of the season this match while also finishing 0.158 percent of her spikes, which was the second-best percentage on the team in the match.
“Our defenders had a lot of great passes and digs which allowed our setters to get good tempo balls out to me allowing me to see the court really well,” Martin said.
Martin attributed her performance to the defense and passing done by her teammates this contest.
The Jaguars’ next contest will see the team traveling to the mountains where they will take on Young Harris university on Friday, March 19.
“We’ve had a lot of highs, but there’s also times where we lose our energy and allow the other team to go on runs,” Martin said. “If we can continue to play consistent volleyball and play our game, I think we should finish out the season really strong.”
Note: At the top of the page, Kylie Martin (13) shows her serving form as teammate Chloe Allen readies for the return of serve. (staff photo)
Contact Jack Johnson at jacjohnson@augusta.edu.
