Augusta, Ga – A balanced offensive attack helped propel the Augusta University Volleyball to a 3-1 victory over the third ranked USC Aiken Pacers in a Peach Belt Conference Tournament semifinal match Wednesday evening at Christenberry Fieldhouse.

Augusta won its twelfth match in a row and improved to 13-2 overall.
The Jaguars advance to Saturday's final against Flagler University at 3 p.m. in Saint Augustine, Florida.

Kylie Martin led the offense with 10 kills. Holland Martin led the defensive effort with a team-high 24 digs. Four other Jaguars recorded at least 7 kills. Nedu Evans had 4 kills, hitting an impressive .444 attack percentage. Alyssa Frazier and Alexis Diaz-Infante also had 8 kills each while Chloe Allen added 7. Allen led the blocking effort with 6 while Frazier and Diaz-Infante added 5 each.


All conference selection Allie Smith led the Pacers with 28 kills and 6 digs. Kaitlyn Rodriguez finished with 15 kills. The Pacers were limited, only playing 6 players.

On Wednesday it was not clear if the Jaguars would get the chance to defend their titles as USC Aiken (9-5) jumped out to an early 10-6 lead following kills from Anita Cookey-Gam and Kaitlyn Rodriguez. The Jaguars answered with a 4-1 run to tie the set at 11 and the two teams traded points for the next three rotations.

The Pacers then got back-to-back kills from senior Alie Smith to open up a four-point lead. Smith had seven kills in the first set alone as the Pacers were able to keep the Jaguars at arm's length, building the lead to seven where it remained until Kaitlyn Rodriguez ended the set with a kill 25-18.

The second set was also close as the two teams were tied 14 times, including at 22 each following a USCA attack error. Another kill by Smith gave USCA set point at 24-23, but gave the point back and tied the match with another attack error. AU then got an ace from Chloe Allen and a kill from Kylie Martin to take the frame 26-24.

The third set began to take its toll on a depleted USCA team. Down 5-4, the Jaguars got five straight points, four of them from USCA errors. The Jags then had another four-point run, getting two kills from Martin, that gave them a nine-point advantage at 17-8. USCA was able to close the gap to one at 20-19, but the Jaguars responded with a kills from Julie Archer, Nedu Evans and two more from Martin to put the set away 25-21.

The fourth set started close with Augusta leading 8-7 before scoring the next eight points in a row to put the Pacers away. The Jaguars hit .324 in the fourth set alone, their best attacking set of the match with the most team kills.

The Conference Tournament finals will be available to watch live HERE

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