ST. AUGUSTINE – Megan Hooks' 17 kills helped lead Flagler College to a hard-fought 3-2 (25-20, 18-25, 25-21, 15-25, 16-14) win over the University of South Carolina Aiken, snapping their 15-match winning streak, in a Peach Belt Conference volleyball match Friday night in front of a raucous crowd at Flagler Gymnasium.

Flagler improved its record to 20-6 overall and 13-4 in the Peach Belt. Flagler is tied for first place in the PBC along with USC Aiken and Armstrong State University. The win tonight also locked up home court for the Saints for the quarterfinal round of the PBC Tournament which begins Tuesday (Nov. 17). USC Aiken lost its first match since dropping a four-setter at Montevallo on Oct. 2. The Pacers fell to 24-4 overall and 13-4 in conference play.

Hooks has recorded double-figure kills in four of the last five matches and her 17 kills tonight ties her career-high. She hit .366 for the match with two errors on 41 swings. In the fifth set alone, she hit .500 with three kills as the Saints went on to hit a robust .524 with 11 kills on 21 errorless swings.

Taja Valmyr added 17 more kills for the Saints. Sara Davis and Jenea Reddick each recorded 10 kills. Davis hit an efficient .429 with one error on 21 swings. Tara Savisky tallied 52 assists while Caitlyn Kovach and Payten Pillsbury each collected 12 digs.

Flagler hit an impressive .276 for the match with 60 kills and 18 errors on 152 swings. The defense gathered 82 digs.

Ashley Diedrich recorded a match-high 21 kills and completed the double-double with 16 digs. She hit .381 in the match and added three total blocks to her line. Taylor Stratton added 17 kills while Alicia Hines contributed 12 kills and hit .478. Emily Teelon tallied 61 assists and had four aces. Katie Toman collected a match-high 18 digs.

The Pacers hit .331 in the match with 73 kills and 20 errors on 160 swings. USC Aiken hit a ridiculous .613 in the second set with 19 kills on 31 errorless swings.

After both sides slugged it out through four sets, the fifth set would hold all of the excitement and thrill of a classic heavyweight bout. Flagler jumped out to an early lead, but USC Aiken, down 6-4, reeled of four straight points to seize control, 8-6. A pair of kills by Stratton and another by Hines fueled the run.

After the court swap, the Saints were able to pull to within one (9-8) after Stratton was caught in the net trying to block Hooks.

The Saints kept tying the set on four different occasions (11, 12, 13 and 14). A kill by Julia Forster game the Pacers match point (14-13), but Stratton's attack on the next side-out was in the net. Stratton's next attempt was long and that gave Flagler match point at 15-14. Reddick was able to spike the ball over the net to give the Saints the set, 16-14, and the match.   

Flagler plays host to Lander University tomorrow (Nov. 14) at 2 p.m. in the regular season finale.