AUGUSTA, Ga. – After celebrating Faculty and Staff Appreciation, the Augusta University volleyball team battled past Lander in a five-set Peach Belt Conference showdown on Friday night. The Jaguars claimed the match 3–2 (25–14, 25–20, 17–25, 18–25, 15–13) to move to 22–6 overall and 10–2 in league play, while the Bearcats fell to 16–8 and 8–4.

It was a back-and-forth contest between two teams near the top of the conference standings. Augusta stormed out to a two-set lead before Lander answered with strong third and fourth frames to even the match. The Jaguars regrouped late, using a 4–1 closing run in the fifth to seal the victory.

Lauren Nelson turned in a standout performance with 21 kills on 45 swings to go along with two aces and seven digs. Layne Witherspoon followed with 14 kills while hitting .295, adding three aces. Setter Sydney Harrington directed the offense with 39 assists and eight digs, and Giulia Rodrigues led the backcourt with 23 digs.

Mia Saavedra finished with 13 digs, seven assists, and an ace, while Sofiia Snitsarevych tallied eight kills and five block assists. Hunter MacFarland was effective behind the line with four aces and added 13 digs.

Lander was led by Katie Miller with 22 kills, while Enisilina Savelio tallied 34 assists and 12 digs.

The Jaguars finished the night with 56 kills and 11 aces while holding the Bearcats to a .197 hitting percentage. Augusta's defense came up big late, forcing key errors and holding Lander to a .167 clip in the deciding set.

Augusta and Lander will meet again on Saturday at 4 p.m. in Christenberry Fieldhouse to close the weekend series.

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