Jaguars defeat the Valkyries at home in four sets

By Rodrigo Burgos Avila | Editor in chief

Augusta University volleyball defended its home court Tuesday night, Sept. 30 with a four-set win over Converse at Christenberry Fieldhouse. (25-16, 16-25, 25-22, 25-14)

The Jaguars opened the match with an 8–0 run in the first set, dropped the second after a strong surge from the Valkyries, and then responded with grit in the final two frames to close out the victory.

Head coach Sharon Quarles said her team is still developing its full identity but credited the depth of players who continue to step up.

“We’re still finding who we are, and we are so far away from peaking, where everything is firing on all cylinders. As you see tonight, Patrycja just came to life. ‘Cause she hasn’t been playing this far, up to this point. She had a couple of great practices and then she had a solid weekend against Georgia College so getting her on the court and just being relaxed and playing. Now that we can keep her going and keep the other players that have been doing well, then add more to where we are and who we are is only gonna help us. You just cannot rely on one or two players to carry the load offensively because it puts too much stress on the defense where we are continuously on defensive mode and not offensive mode.”

Lauren Nelson delivered in crucial moments, amassing 14 kills on .235 hitting. She shined late in the third set when the Jaguars needed energy.

“Chip on my shoulder. I was getting a little testy, because I was like, we should not be playing like this, we need to lock in. Those big plays are what brings our team up. I know our team really well. We play really well together, and I know that’s what brings the energy up, the big blocks, the big digs.”

Patrycja Kabala gave Augusta an early spark, opening the first set with the team’s first point and staying aggressive at the net. She was the Jaguar’s best attacker tonight, recording a season high 15 kills on .324 hitting. She explained how important it was to set the tone early on.

“We are known for losing the first set, so it was really important to set the tone in the beginning. That really helped in the first set, then it went down in the second set and we picked it up later,” she said.

Kabala added that her success came from work put in during practice.

“That’s all thanks to our coach, ‘cause she worked with me in the past practices, about hitting the line because I like doing that, but I just haven’t been 100% sure on it. And now, because we’ve worked on it, and I got feedback on it, I decided to try it out today and it really worked well.”

Giulia Rodrigues anchored the back row with 17 digs, matching her teammate’s Mia Saavedra’s number of digs, and she also helped at the service line, where she stayed focused on placement and pressure.

“I want to go to the location that Coach gives me on the court and just go as aggressive as I can. Sometimes even if you miss, you’re still aiming for the same spot. You just gotta be consistent,” Rodrigues said.

With the win, Augusta improves to 11-2 and showed once again the value of depth and balance, with multiple players contributing in different roles. The Jaguars return to action this upcoming Friday, Oct. 3 at 7p.m. as they travel to Greenwood, SC to face Lander in a clash against one of their biggest rivals. After that match, they will come back home to Christenberry Fieldhouse to face Flagler on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 3p.m. in what will be the toughest two-game stretch in this young season.

Contact Rodrigo Burgos Avila at rburgosavila@augusta.edu.

Note: Above, Mia Saavedra goes up for a kill during the match against Converse on Tuesday Sept. 30. (photo by Lydia Williams/the Bell Ringer)