Augusta volleyball team earns sixth seed in Southeast Regional

By Chris Rickerson | Sports editor

The Augusta University volleyball team, fresh off its fourth straight Peach Belt Conference Tournament championship, has earned the No. 6 seed in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional, which will begin with the quarterfinals on Dec. 2 in Anderson, S.C.

Coach Sharon Quarles’ Jaguars automatically qualified for the regional after defeating Flagler College in the Peach Belt Conference Championship game on Sunday, Nov. 21. AU dominated the PBC tournament, winning both the semifinal and final by 3 sets to 0. 

After the NCAA did not have a Division II national tournament last year due to COVID-19, AU will be looking to go further than ever before.. The last time the Jaguars were in the NCAA tournament, in 2019, they had their best performance in school history, advancing to the Sweet 16 before losing to Carson-Newman.

AU (22-8) will face third-seeded Tusculum (20-5) in the first round of the Southeast Region. This will be the Jaguars’ first meeting with Tusculum since 2017. 

Tusculum is led by Coach Danielle Marante, who was named as the South Atlantic Conference coach of the year. The Pioneers had five players named to the all-conference teams and are led by SAC player of the year Emiah Burrowes. 

The rest of the Southeast Region includes top-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne, second-seeded Anderson, fourth-seeded Wingate, fifth-seeded Flagler, seventh-seeded Mars Hill and eighth-seeded Francis Marion. 

Anderson University will host the tournament Dec. 2-4 at the Abney Athletic Center. AU’s first-round matchup against Tusculum will be Dec. 2, at 7:30 p.m. The winner will advance and go on to face the Anderson-Mars Hill winner. Mars Hill (21-12) and Anderson (22-7) will play at 5 p.m. on Dec. 2.

In the other bracket, earlier in the day, Lenoir-Rhyne (22-7) will play Francis Marion (21-10) at noon, followed by Flagler playing Wingate at 2:30. The winners of those two matches will play each other in the semifinals on Dec. 3. The semifinals will be at 5 and 7:30 p.m. The regional final is set for Dec. 4 at 5 p.m.

 Contact Chris Rickerson at crickerson@augusta.edu.

The Augusta University Volleyball celebrates winning their fourth consecutive Peach Belt Conference Tournament championship. At the top of the page, Peach Belt Player of the Year Chloe Allen (6) goes for the kill for the Jaguars. (photos by Katron Hugee)