ST. AUGUSTINE –
Megan Hooks and
Sara Davis combined to record 21 kills as Flagler College, the No. 2 seed, held off a scrappy Augusta University (No. 7 seed) team 3-0 (26-24, 26-24, 25-21) in a Peach Belt Conference Tournament Quarterfinal Tuesday night at Flagler Gymnasium.
Flagler (21-7) advances to the semifinal round on Friday and will face arch-rival and No. 3 seed Armstrong State University at 5 p.m. at Aiken, South Carolina. Augusta wraps up its season with a 19-14 record.
The first two sets were nail-biters as the first set had 11 ties and five lead changes while the second set had 18 ties and five lead changes. The Saints won both, 26-24.
Consecutive kills by Hooks and
Ashley Cheewah ended a 7-2 run for Flagler to open the third set. Following a Jaguar timeout, Augusta closed to within one (8-7) on a kill by Rachel Windle.
The Saints opened up a 19-12 lead, but again the Jaguars were able to fight back. Flagler had three consecutive attack errors, two by Cheewah and one by Hooks, and Augusta again closed to one point (20-19), but would be as close as it would get. But kills by
Tara Savisky and Hooks, sandwiched around a hitting error by Katie Beresford, put the Saints in control, 23-19. Flagler won the final set, 25-21. The Saints hit .178 in the set with 15 kills and seven errors on 45 swings. Augusta hit .043 with 10 kills and eight errors on 47 swings.
Hooks added two blocks to her line while Davis hit .286 with four errors on 21 swings and had two aces.
Taja Valmyr chipped in with nine kills. Savisky recorded her 14
th double-double of the season with a match-high 32 assists and 11 digs. She added three kills and hit .429.
Caitlyn Kovach gathered a match-high 22 digs while Cheewah recorded five total blocks.
Jenea Reddick added four total blocks.
Savanna Gonzales led the Jaguars with 10 kills and nine digs. Windle added another nine kills. Alyssa Latham recorded a double-double with 29 assists and 12 digs. Cat DeSilvester corralled 18 digs.
Top-seed University of South Carolina Aiken preserved the home court advantage by defeating No. 8 seed Georgia College, 3-1. They will take on the No. 5 seed Lander University which pulled the upset over No. 4 University of Montevallo, 3-2. Armstrong defeated No. 6 Francis Marion University, 3-1.