Jags flip the switch, start conference play 3-0
By Rodrigo Burgos Avila | Sports editor
The Augusta University volleyball team has flipped the switch.
After opening the season 2-8, the Jaguars have won three straight matches to begin Peach Belt Conference play, including a 3-1 victory over Lander at Christenberry Fieldhouse on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
Augusta took the first two sets 25-15 and 25-18 before Lander answered with a 25-20 third-set victory. The Jaguars closed the door in the fourth, winning 25-15 to improve to 5-8 overall and 3-0 in conference play.
The biggest difference has been the Jaguars’ ability to spread the offense.
Augusta finished with 60 kills and a .248 hitting percentage against the Bearcats, with five players recording at least five kills. Emma Haren led the way with 19 kills while hitting .311, while Nikol Antova added 17 kills at a .303 clip. Sofiia Snitsarevych contributed 10 kills and hit a team-best .391.
Andrea Rodriguez (1) slides across the court to set up Augusta’s offense against Lander. Rodriguez finished with 26 assists and 10 digs for a double-double. (photo by Rodrigo Burgos Avila/the Bell Ringer)
Behind that attack was a balanced setting effort.
Andrea Rodríguez and freshman Kinley Nichols both finished with more than 20 assists. Rodríguez recorded 26 assists and 10 digs for a double-double, while Nichols finished with 20 assists.
For AU coach Sharon Quarles, the emergence of Nichols as a reliable secondary setter has been one of the biggest developments behind Augusta’s turnaround.
“It’s the secondary setter. She’s (Nichols) a freshman. Being a freshman you’re going to go through the angst, the learning curve, but she has worked hard from the first weekend to where we are now and she has stabilized,” Quarles said.
That stability has allowed Augusta to use a 6-2 offensive system more freely.
In a traditional 5-1 system, one setter is responsible for running the offense throughout the match. The 6-2 gives a team two setters, with the setter in the back row running the offense while the other setter rotates to the front row and becomes another attacking option.
For Augusta, that means more opportunities to keep multiple hitters involved.
“Now we can freely go into a 6-2. We have more attack, because in a 5-1, you only have so many arms, and it’s too much pressure on people,” Quarles said.
The numbers against Lander showed exactly what that change can produce.
Augusta had three players finish with double-digit kills, while Isis Barrett, Molly McDonald and Layne Witherspoon also contributed to an offense that consistently moved the ball around the court.
After the first set, Quarles and the coaching staff noticed Lander beginning to adjust to Augusta’s attack.
“After the first set, we were like, ‘Okay, now we have to feed the middle because they’re keying in on the pins, and they’re double blocking the pins,’” Quarles said.
That adjustment opened the court for Augusta’s middle hitters while forcing Lander’s defense to account for more than just the pins.
“Our middles are very capable,” Quarles said. “Isis is fabulous and she did fabulous last match. She’s a blocking machine. Layne has some springs, and she can score.”
Emma Haren (7) attacks from the outside during Augusta’s 3-1 win over Lander. Haren led the Jags with 19 kills. (photo by Rodrigo Burgos Avila/the Bell Ringer)
The Jaguars’ ability to keep Lander guessing was evident throughout the match. Augusta finished with 60 kills compared with 33 for the Bearcats and held Lander to a .131 hitting percentage.
Haren was at the center of that offensive attack.
The junior outside hitter finished with 19 kills and 12 digs, recording a double-double while hitting .311. She also found success attacking down the line against Lander’s block.
“So they definitely have a good block and a big block, and that’s a thing that every team in our conference has, a big block,” Haren said. “It is really just making sure to keep the ball in front of us, swing and stay aggressive with all our swings.”
Haren repeatedly found the deep corner down the line, taking advantage when Lander’s block shifted toward the middle of the court.
“Deep corner is always a great shot in volleyball, but when the block typically tends to set up on the inside, that line shot works really well,” Haren said. “So if it is given, we try to take it.”
Antova was just as aggressive on the other side of the net.
The junior from Kennesaw, GA finished with 17 kills on 33 attacks and hit .303. With Quarles giving her the freedom to attack, Antova said she is not spending much time worrying about what the opposing block is doing.
“It feels good for someone to trust you to do your job,” Antova said. “She’s been coaching me and navigating me through everything in order for me to be a better player. So that feels really good.”
When asked what she was seeing from Lander’s block, Antova kept it simple.
“Honestly, everything and anything,” she said. “I just go up, look at it (the court), and whatever I see, I go for it. I’m not too picky. I know I can hit through the block, so the block doesn’t really faze me.”
While the offense has received most of the attention during the three-match winning streak, the Jaguars have also gotten important production from their back row.
Hunter MacFarland anchored Augusta’s defense with 19 digs, while Haren added 12 and Rodríguez finished with 10.
The result was a complete performance from a team that looked very different from the one that began the season 2-8.
Three conference matches later, Augusta is undefeated in the PBC and has found a formula that allows more players to contribute.
Now comes one of the Jaguars’ biggest tests.
Augusta travels to St. Augustine, Florida, on Saturday to face Flagler, which will give the Jaguars an opportunity to see how far this turnaround has come against one of the conference’s strongest teams.
Quarles already knows what her team needs to clean up.
Nikol Antova (16) and Soffia Snitsarevych (11) wall up for a monster block against the Bearcats. (photo by Rodrigo Burgos Avila/the Bell Ringer)
“Playing low ball, which is playing close to the antenna,” Quarles said. “Their gym is definitely home court advantage because it’s a smaller gym and the ceiling is much lower. Those high dug up balls will not work.”
Instead, Augusta will have to play faster and serve with purpose.
“We’d rather play fast tempo ball,” Quarles said. “We have to go in there, weaponize our serve, and not have bad misses.”
Quarles also emphasized the importance of eliminating hesitation, something that has hurt Augusta at different points this season.
“There are some rotations where it’s like a light switch goes on and everyone starts hesitating and that is how you drop a set,” she said.
Three matches into conference play, that light switch appears to have finally come on.
The Jaguars are no longer the 2-8 team that struggled to find its identity at the beginning of the season.
They are 3-0 in conference play, 5-8 overall and heading to St. Augustine with momentum.
Now, the next challenge is proving this switch has been flipped for good.
Contact Rodrigo Burgos Avila at rburgosavila@augusta.edu.
Note: At the top of the page, the Jaguars celebrate after scoring the last point of the match. (photo by Rodrigo Burgos Avila/the Bell Ringer)
