ST. AUGUSTINE – For the second consecutive match Rachel Machovec turned in a double-double with 13 kills and 12 digs to help rally Flagler College to a 3-2 (25-17, 21-25, 16-25, 25-18, 15-13) win over Augusta University in a Peach Belt Conference volleyball match Saturday afternoon at Flagler Gymnasium.

Flagler raised its record to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the Peach Belt. Today's match was the season opener for Augusta.

"What an incredible team effort today, including great energy from the Flagler Gym crowd," said head coach Matt Affolder. "I can't say enough about the fight our team showed, and their constant lifting-up of each other and staying the course was the difference in the match."

This was a close match throughout and pitted the two teams that were picked first and second in the preseason coaches' poll. There were 26 ties and 12 lead changes in the entire match. In the fifth set alone, there were five ties and one lead change.

The Jaguars got out to a quick 7-3 lead in the fifth, but the Saints rallied to tie the set at 8-all after an Augusta hitting error.

Later, a Madison Malloch kill gave the Jaguars a 12-9 lead, but kills by Victoria Bowrosen and Logan Garcia, coupled with a couple hitting errors, tied the set up at 13.

"Logan was dominant today, and it was incredible to see how she started set one as the most physical player on the floor," said Affolder.

Rachel Machovec scored the last two points of the set with back-to-back kills to win the match for Flagler.

Garcia added 12 kills and five total blocks while Rebekah Machovec collected 12 digs to go along with seven kills. Kennedy Muff tallied 38 assists. Karolina Garstka finished with a team-high 13 digs. Rachel Machovec added three aces and three total blocks to her line.

"There were so many instances where we got timely kills, pressure serving, and huge momentum plays from everyone tonight," said Affolder. "Augusta stresses you in so many ways with all of their weapons and physicality, and I'm incredibly proud of our team for rising up to meet the challenge. I thought Kennedy did so many things to keep our motor running that won't show up in the stat sheet for this match – her energy, motivation, and focus on the ultimate goal kept our entire team connected and together."

Kylie Martin led Augusta with 14 kills and 10 digs. Malloch added 11 kills and five total blocks. Chloe Allen finished with 10 kills, four aces, nine digs, and four total blocks. Samantha Zittrauer tallied 23 assists and Holland Martin had a match-high 18 digs as well as four aces.  

Flagler rolled in the first set hitting a red-hot .565 as it recorded 13 kills on 23 errorless swings. Garcia was perfect on six kills.  

Flagler travels to Lander University for a match on March 12 at Greenwood, South Carolina.


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