AUGUSTA, Ga. – Augusta State took another league-leading team to five sets Saturday afternoon before dropping a 3-2 Peach Belt Conference decision to Armstrong Atlantic State in Christenberry Fieldhouse.
After dealing Flagler its first conference loss of the season Friday night, the Jaguars scored six straight points against Armstrong to close out the first set, 25-22. A Mandy Irizarry and Katie Beresford block tied the score at 22-22, and ASU never let up. A Jenna Keeler kill put the Jags up 23-22, and two AASU attack errors gave Augusta a 25-22 win.
Despite going up early in the second set and outhitting the Pirates .382 to .267, ASU dropped the set 25-22 after tying the set at 14. Armstrong controlled the third set for a 25-18 victory, posting 16 kills on three errors to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Jags bounced back in the fourth, posting a .400 attack percentage to the Pirates' .229. Armstrong tied the set at 19, but ASU countered with three consecutive kills from Kristen Koch for a 25-20 win. With the match tied at 2-2, the fifth set was back and forth. The Jags led 13-10 before Armstrong forced a 13-all tie and won five straight points, the last on a kill by Jessica Santaniello, to clinch the victory.
Koch, a sophomore from Niceville, Fla., posted an individual season-high and team season-high 28 kills, while Keeler notched 17 putdowns without an error and Irizarry added 11 kills. Senior setter Krystin Wahlig tallied 53 assists, one night after providing 56 in ASU's victory over Flagler.
Defensively, junior Andria Tagarelli paced the squad with 35 digs, while Wahlig added 12 digs for her 13th double-double. The Jags posted a .323 hitting percentage to .258 for the Pirates.
With the loss, ASU slipped to 5-7 in the conference and 17-13 overall. The Pirates improved to 10-1 in the PBC and 26-5 overall and remained in a tie for first place in the PBC standings with Flagler entering the final week of the regular season.
The Jags return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 6 when they host Francis Marion in a PBC matchup at 7:00 p.m., in Christenberry Fieldhouse. ASU celebrates Senior Night on Friday, Nov. 9 vs. UNC Pembroke at 6:00 p.m.
