ST. AUGUSTINE – Kennedy Muff tallied a season-high 51 assists and added 12 digs, five kills, and three total blocks to help guide Flagler College to a 3-2 (25-11, 25-18, 24-26, 23-25, 15-11) win over Lander University in a mutual Peach Belt Conference opener Friday night at Flagler Gymnasium.

Flagler improved to 6-3 overall while Lander had its four-match winning streak snapped and fell to 7-4. The Saints are 9-4 all-time in PBC openers. Up next for Flagler is its first road trip of the year. The Saints head to Young Harris College on Sept. 24 at 6 p.m.

Rachel Machovec notched her sixth double-double of the season with 17 kills and 15 digs. She added four aces to her line. Logan Garcia recorded a career-high 16 kills, hit .414, and added three block assists. Victoria Bowrosen tied her career-high with 15 kills and added 11 digs for her first career double-double. Rebekah Machovec paced the defense with a season-high 20 digs.

The Bearcats were led by Christina Aguayo who recorded 16 kills, collected 15 digs, and tallied four total blocks. Daria de Carvalho Peixe added 13 kills and hit .423. Madilyn Reed registered 34 assists and completed the double-double with 11 digs.

Flagler opened the first set on a 5-0 tear and led by as many as 15 (22-7). The Saints were very efficient hitting at a .567 clip with 18 kills and only one error on 30 swings. Bowrosen hit a sizzling .714 with five kills on seven errorless swings.

The Saints used a 7-1 run to wipe out a 9-8 deficit to take control of the second set. Garcia led Flagler with five kills and a .500 hitting percentage in that set.

The Bearcats reeled off six straight points to take an 8-3 lead in the third set. The Saints fought their way back and had match point (24-23) after a Bowrosen kill. But kills by Reed and Peixe along with a hitting error by Flagler gave Lander the win.

Lander opened with a 5-0 run in the fourth set, but Flagler wiped out a 10-8 deficit with a 6-0 run to take the lead. Later, an Aguayo kill knotted the set at 17-all, which was part of a 5-0 Bearcat spurt. The Saints fought off four set points and trailed 24-23 when Peixe ended it with a kill.

In the deciding set, the Saints used a 5-0 run to eliminate a 5-4 disadvantage and rolled to the win. Garcia had four kills and hit .600 in the last set.   

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