Box Score Box score

ST. AUGUSTINE – Emilee Taylor (Temple Terrace, Fla., Armwood HS) recorded a match-high 18 kills and hit .361 to help lead Flagler College to a 3-1 (25-20, 25-14, 22-25, 25-20) win over No. 15 (AVCA Division II Top 25) Armstrong Atlantic State University in a Peach Belt Conference women's volleyball match Wednesday night at Flagler Gymnasium.

Flagler extended its winning streak to six matches and improved to 22-6 overall and 11-1 in the Peach Belt. The Saints are now 2-4 against Division II nationally ranked opponents. Armstrong suffered its first loss and fell to 31-1 overall and 11-1 in the conference play.

Dianna Craine (Oshawa, Ontario, University of Tulsa) added a double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs. Sophie Meyer (Orlando, Fla., The Geneva School) chipped in with 11 kills while Crystal Niederriter (Merritt Island, Fla., Merritt Island HS) tacked on 10 kills and hit .429. Olivia Snipes (Easley, S.C., Easley HS) tallied 54 assists, six digs and five total blocks. Rachel Stacy (Orlando, Fla., Timber Creek HS) contributed six kills and six total blocks. Casey Gnann (Boca Raton, Fla., Spanish River HS) paced the defense with a match-high 21 digs. 

The Saints hit .359 for the match with 60 kills and just 13 errors on 131 swings.

Brendyce Budd, Jessica Santaniello, and Brittany Wolf each recorded 10 kills for the Pirates. Stacey Davis collected a team-high 13 digs while Ashley Seal tallied 42 assists.

With the score tied at 4-all in the first set, Santaniello hit a service error which sparked a 5-0 run by the Saints. The lead grew to 16-10 before the Pirates started to whittle away at the deficit. An Amanda Jones kill brought Armstrong to within two (19-17), but Flagler closed the set on a 6-3 run.

A Taylor kill gave Flagler a 6-5 lead in the second set which ignited an 8-1 run en route to a 25-14 win. Armstrong was held to .059 hitting while Flagler hit .367 with 13 kills and two errors on 30 swings. Niederriter had four kills, hit .667 and added two blocks in the set for Flagler.

The third set featured nine ties and three lead changes. Neither team had a larger lead than three point until a double-block by Seal and Leia Pittman gave the Pirates set point at 24-20. An attack error by Stacy Davis and a kill by Taylor rallied the Saints to 24-22, but Seal ended the set with a kill. Armstrong hit .231 and were led by Budd's four kills and .444 hitting percentage.

There were 10 ties and four lead changes in the fourth set, but it was a kill by Niederriter that broke a 12-all tie and Taylor followed with a kill to force an Armstrong timeout. The Saints extended the lead to 16-12 and held on to take the set 25-20.

Flagler hosts USC Aiken on Friday (Nov. 4) at 7 p.m. at Flagler Gymnasium on “Senior Night.”

Flagler def. Armstrong 25-20,25-14,22-25,25-20

  Armstrong (31-1, 11-1 PBC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Wolf, Brittany
  10-0-2; Santaniello, Jessica 10-0-1; Budd, Brendyce 10-1-0; Pittman,
  Leia 8-0-3; Jones, Amanda 7-0-1; Seal, Ashley 2-2-2; Howett, Casey
  0-1-0; Totals 47-4-6.0. (Assists) - Seal, Ashley 42. (Dig leaders) -
  Davis, Stacey 13; Howett, Casey 9; Budd, Brendyce 8

  Flagler (22-6, 11-1 PBC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Taylor, Emilee 18-0-2;
  Craine, Dianna 14-1-1; Meyer, Sophie 11-0-2; Niederriter, Crystal
  10-0-3; Stacy, Rachel 6-0-6; Lancaster, Laura B. 1-0-0; Snipes, Olivia
  0-1-5; Totals 60-2-12.0. (Assists) - Snipes, Olivia 54. (Dig leaders)
  - Gnann, Casey 21; Craine, Dianna 11

  Site: St. Augustine, Fla. (Flagler Gym)
  Date: Nov 02, 2011   Attend: 379   Time: 1:40
  Referees: James Phillips, Darin Clark