AIKEN, S.C. – Flagler College got double-digit kills from three players, had 12 total team blocks and used a hot hitting fourth set to defeat Armstrong State University 3-1 (25-19, 26-24, 18-25, 25-19) in a Peach Belt Conference Volleyball Tournament Semifinal Friday evening at the Convocation Center.

Flagler, the No. 2 seed, improves to 22-7 overall and will await the winner of the Lander University-University of South Carolina Aiken semifinal which begins at 7:30 p.m. The championship match will be played tomorrow (Nov. 21) at 2 p.m. Since joining the Peach Belt in 2009, Flagler has played in every tournament championship match except 2013. The Saints are 3-2 in those matches. Armstrong, who had played in seven consecutive conference finals, dropped to 18-10 and will wait and see if it is granted one of the five at-large berths when the national bracket is released Monday (Nov. 23) at 7:30 p.m.

Taja Valmyr led the Saints with 15 kills and a career-high six blocks assists. Sara Davis, who was named to the All-PBC first-team earlier today, added 13 kills and a season-high seven block assists. Jenea Reddick chipped in with 11 kills, hit .375 and recorded four block assists. Ashley Cheewah recorded another five block assists for the Saints. Tara Savisky, the co-Freshman and Setter of the Year, recorded her 15^th double-double of the season, and second against Armstrong, with 43 assists and 15 digs. She also added four kills on six attempts. Caitlyn Kovach anchored the back row with 21 digs. Aashley Lechleidner-Rodriguez and Payten Pillsbury added 15 and 13 digs, respectively.

Flagler hit .182 as a team, but hit a sizzling .357 (12 kills and two errors on 28 swings) in the fourth and final set. The 12 total team blocks tied for the season high the Saints.

Anna McGee, a first-team All-PBC selection, recorded a match-high 17 kills for the Pirates. Emily Wylie, a first-team All-PBC pick as well, added 10 kills and four total blocks. Raquel Kulak chipped in with eight kills and four block assists. Iva Scepanovic collected a match-high 30 digs. Raegan Grooms contributed 22 digs. Kristi Vaughn recorded a double-double with 27 assists and 12 digs.

Armstrong was held to a .105 hitting percentage which included a .056 mark in the fourth set.

In the first set, Flagler trailed early but used a 4-0 spurt mid-way through to take a 13-12 lead. Three of those points were mistakes by the Pirates. The other was a double-block by Valmyr and Davis on McGee. The Saints won 25-19 with the help of five kills and three total blocks by Valmyr.

The Saints fell behind early again in the second set. A hitting error by Davis gave Armstrong a 7-2 lead. However, Flagler was able to chip away and finally tie Armstrong at 20 due to a hitting error by Brittany Hereth. That capped a run of five straight points by the Saints. Later, a pair of kills by McGee and a double-block by Kulak and Hereth on Davis gave the Pirates set points (24-20). A kill by Davis and back-to-back hitting errors by Armstong's Kulak and McGee cut the Pirate advantage to 24-23. Following an Armstrong timeout, Savisky dumped a ball over the net to tie the score at 24. Davis and Megan Hooks, a second-team All-PBC selection, blocked Kulak to give Flagler set point, 25-24. McGee had a hitting error which gave the set to the Saints, 26-24, and Flagler led two sets to none.

The third set went back and forth until Armstrong went on a 9-1 run to take a 20-11 lead. The Saints had six hitting errors, but two of those were due to blocks by Armstrong. The Pirates hung on for a 25-18 win. Rachel Thompson had three block assists in the set and Scepanovic collected 10 of her 30 digs.

An attack error by Thompson ignited a 3-0 spurt by the Saints which is all they needed to gain some breathing room against the Pirates. Reddick added a kill and then teamed with Cheewah for a double-block to complete the run. Flagler would lead by as many as eight (20-12) and rolled to a 25-19 win to take the match. Reddick had four kills, hit .800 and added three block assists in that set.