Augusta rallies past Georgia College for conference road win
By Rodrigo Burgos Avila | Editor in chief
MILLEDGEVILLE—After dropping the opening set, the Augusta University volleyball team responded with three straight frames to secure a 3–1 win over Georgia College on Saturday afternoon at the Centennial Center (22–25, 26-24, 25–20, 25–16) on Saturday, Sept. 27.
The Jaguars improved to 10–2 overall and 2–0 in Peach Belt Conference play behind a balanced effort that saw four players finish with double-digit kills.
Lauren Nelson continued her strong week, leading Augusta with 21 kills and 11 digs, including several clutch swings late in the second and third sets when the Jaguars needed a go-to scorer.
“Instead of playing scared, I like the mentality of just going out and balls to the wall,” Nelson said. “Once I start ripping a couple and I find that consistent kill, then I go after that. and then I’ll switch it up on them towards the end.”
Mia Saavedra came off the bench and completely changed the momentum in the second set, dishing out 37 assists while also contributing 15 digs for a double-double.
“My mindset was that I had to do something in that moment,” Saavedra said. “My primary and favorite position is setting. I was really hoping I would do something with the opportunity.”
She also credited her connection with Nelson and Layne Witherspoon for opening up the offense.
“They were really pulling on our middle for the block, and so I tried to set her more and give her those splits of opportunity. Layne was doing a great job at pulling the middle blocker as well, so it was nice to see them two like that.”
Witherspoon added 12 kills on .241 hitting while Patrycja Kabala chipped in eight kills.
Defensively, Giulia Rodrigues anchored the back row with 31 digs.
After a slow start in the first set, Augusta locked in defensively and controlled a tight second frame 26–24, limiting the Bobcats to just eight kills. Nelson and Saavedra combined to fuel the offense in the middle sets, while Witherspoon delivered clutch kills down the stretch of the fourth to help close out the win.
Georgia College dropped to 3–9 overall and 0–2 in conference play despite a strong showing from Kaylee Weeks, who tallied 10 kills.
Augusta returns home Tuesday to play a non-conference match against Converse at 7p.m.
Contact Rodrigo Burgos Avila at rburgosavila@augusta.edu.
Note: At the top of the page, the Jaguar block walls up for a key block during their match against Georgia College. (Photo by Rodrigo Burgos Avila/The Bell Ringer)
