SAVANNAH, Ga. – Three times wasn't the charm for sixth-seed Lander University. The Bearcats had defeated Flagler twice this season, but the Saints won the rubber game, a Peach Belt Conference Volleyball Tournament semifinal match, 3-1 (28-30, 25-15, 25-23, 25-16) Friday afternoon at The ARC.
Flagler will now take on No. 20 (AVCA Division II Top 25) Armstrong State University in the tournament final tomorrow (Nov. 15) at 2 p.m. The two teams have met four times in the final with the Saints winning three.
Flagler improved to 16-15 overall while Lander dropped to 22-10. The Bearcats will have to wait and see if it qualifies for one of the five at-large berths when the selection show is announced.
Genel Sturgeon led five players with double-figure kills as she tied her career-high with 17. She hit an efficient .333 with three errors on 42 swings.
Sara Davis, the PBC Freshman of the Year, hit a sizzling .414 with 16 kills and four errors on 29 swings. She added four total blocks to her line.
Taja Valmyr recorded her third consecutive double-double and her eighth overall with 13 kills and a season-high 25 digs. She added three aces and four total blocks to her line.
Megan Hooks added 12 kills while
Ashley Cheewah chipped in with 11 kills and two total blocks.
Amelia Morgan tallied a career-high 65 assists and added 11 digs to complete the double-double.
Flagler hit .270 as a team with 72 kills and 25 errors on 174 swings.
Kendall Korte led four Bearcats in double-figures with 13 kills. Tarryn Angermeier added 12 kills while Sydney Tracy tacked on 11 more. Kate Schwartz closed with 10 kills. Sarah Bradley paced the defense with 19 digs while Jessica Register notched a double-double with 44 assists and 10 digs.
The match featured 30 ties and 12 lead changes. In the first set alone, there was 19 ties and nine lead changes before Lander came away with the 30-28 win.
The fourth set was back and forth until a pair of kills by Davis put the Saints on top 13-11. After the Bearcats answered with a kill to close the gap, Cheewah and Sturgeon supplied kills to put Flagler ahead 15-12 and forced Lander to call a timeout. The Saints followed with a 5-2 run to take a commanding 20-14 lead and Valmyr ended the match with a kill.
