AU volleyball to open season at Emmanuel Tournament
Staff report
The Augusta University volleyball team, which shared the Peach Belt regular-season title last fall, will open its 2026 campaign with three matches in the Emmanuel Tournament in Franklin Springs.
The Jaguars will open their campaign against Mars Hill on Aug. 28 at 2 p.m. They will also play Emmanuel that day and Mount Olive the following day.
The second weekend of the season will find AU and USC Aiken co-hosting an invitational in Aiken, S.C. Augusta will play Lee University, North Greenville, Carson-Newman and Shorter in that invitational.
Then the Jaguars head back to the road for the PBC/Gulf South Crossover in Clinton, Miss., on Sept. 11-12. Opponents will be Montevallo, Alabama-Huntsville and Mississippi College.
Conference play will begin Sept. 17 when the Jaguars will host Middle Georgia at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
AU is led by senior middle hitter Layne Witherspoon, who earned honorable mention all-America honors last season. She finished with 346 kills, 168 digs and 84 total blocks. Witherspoon was a first-team all-conference selection.
Also returning is setter Sydney Harrington, defensive specialist Hunter MacFarland, middle blocker Sofia Snitsarevych and right side hitter Angela Mateos. Snitsarevych was second-team all-conference and freshman of the year in the PBC last season.
Layne Witherspoon was named honorable mention all-American after an outstanding junior season when she tied teammate Lauren Nelson with 346 kills. At the top of the page, Hunter MacFarland was one of the team’s most consistent servers with 44 aces. (photos by Lydia Williams/the Bell Ringer)
