The Jags sweep Middle Georgia in first half of their season opener
By Rodrigo Burgos Avila | Editor in chief
Augusta University volleyball opened its home slate Friday afternoon with a 3–0 sweep over Middle Georgia State at Christenberry Fieldhouse. The Jaguars won by set scores of 25–19, 25–17, and 25–23 to improve to 8–2 on the season.
Layne Witherspoon powered the offense with 10 kills on .308 hitting, while Lauren Posa delivered a match-high 11 kills on .450 efficiency. Setter Sydney Harrington paced the attack with 37 assists and added 10 digs.
In the opening set, Middle Georgia kept it close with several late runs, but Augusta held on down the stretch. Assistant coach Dekyra Dennis said her message in the huddles was about staying sharp.
“One of the main things we mentioned in timeouts was execution,” Dennis said. “It’s a huge part, especially playing teams we haven’t seen before or opening up the conference. It was important for us to make a statement early. That’s the main thing we wanted them to understand right away — it’s that we got to come out, all about business.”
Posa came through in key moments, especially in the second and third sets.
“Coach Quarles said hit line, so I just took what she said and hit line,” Posa said. She added that her focus was on being reliable for her teammates. “Being a go-to hitter for my setter when the middles are getting blocked, or when the sets aren’t really there, just making sure that my setter knows that I have her back.”
The Jaguars once again played without standout Angela Mateos, who remains sidelined with an abdominal strain.
Later in the night, the Jags proved their toughness, erasing a two-set deficit to defeat Mount Olive at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
After dropping the first two 25-23 and 25-22, the Jaguars roared back to take the next three sets 25-13, 25-18, and 15-6, sealing a gritty comeback win in front of 232 fans.
The team leaned on balance and resilience, with three players finishing in double-digit kills. Senior outside hitter Lauren Nelson led the charge with a match-high 19 kills while hitting .385, also adding 15 digs for a double-double. She credited the bench for helping her stay aggressive during the match.
“I want to shout out the bench, first of all— the bench absolutely brings it every game,” Nelson said. “It’s not easy being on the bench. I owe it to them. They told me my shots every single time I came off… The shift in energy just became a mindset switch. We’re not gonna let this team walk all over us, we’re gonna walk all over them.”
Middle blocker Layne Witherspoon was nearly flawless, tallying 15 kills with no errors on 32 swings for a .469 hitting percentage. She also added 8 digs while taking on the rare responsibility of playing six rotations.
“Just trying to get every ball,” she said. “It wasn’t confidence as much as it was trust that everyone was gonna do their job.”
Off the bench, Patricia Kabala made her presence felt with 10 kills and 6 digs, sparking Augusta during the pivotal third-set turnaround.
“I was juts excited to play,” Kamala said. “Our team is really great. The only thing that we miss sometimes is the hype, and if you walk in and hype them up, they’re gonna do their job.”
The night also included a career milestone as graduate student and libero Giulia Rodrigues notched her 1,000th career dig, cementing her place among Augusta’s defensive leaders.
Sofiia Snitsarevych added 15 kills on .393 hitting and setter Sydney Harrington distributed the offense with 58 assists and 14 digs for a double-double. Rodrigues alongside Hunter MacFarland anchored the back row with 15 and 13 digs respectively.
Assistant coach Dekyra Dennis praised her team’s ability to reset after the shaky start.
“It’s hard to play teams twice, let alone weeks after,” Dennis said. “They needed to understand that teams come to play and they want to beat us. We couldn’t worry about their side of the court until we controlled ours and played a lot cleaner and more disciplined.”
With the victory, AU improves their record to 9-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play after beating Middle Georgia earlier in the day. Mount Olive dropped to 4-8 after their defeat. The Jaguars will look to carry the momentum into their conference matchup on the road against Georgia College tomorrow Sept. 27, at the Centennial Center.
Contact Rodrigo Burgos Avila at rburgosavila@augusta.edu.
Above: Layne Witherspoon (20) gets the last point of the second set for the Jags during their home opener against Middle Georgia.
Below: Lauren Posa (9) and Sofiia Snitsarevych (11) wall up for a block during the Jags’ match against Middle Georgia on Sept. 26. (Photos by Rodrigo Burgos Avila/The Bell Ringer)
