Sports roundup: Witherspoon named honorable mention all-American

Staff report

Layne Witherspoon, the all-conference middle hitter for Augusta University, has been named an honorable mention all-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

The Jaguar junior helped lead her team to a 25-9 record and a regular-season co-championship in the Peach Belt Conference. Augusta advanced to the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional before being eliminated in the quarterfinals by Anderson University.

Witherspoon, a junior from Wildwood, Mo., had also been named honorable mention all-Southeast Region earlier. She tied Lauren Nelson for the team lead with 346 kills while hitting a team-best .295 in 126 sets. She averaged 2.75 kills per set.

Jaguar women, men split at USCB

The AU women got a key road win over USC Beaufort by a 78-71 score in Bluffton, S.C., on Wednesday, Dec. 10.

Guard Elyse Autrey led the way with 23 points, five assists and five steals. Forward Quinasia Abercrombie added 19 points and six rebounds for the Jaguars (2-1, 5-2).

A 24-10 second quarter was the key for AU after the Sandsharks had built a 19-11 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Taniyah Bowman totaled 22 points to lead USCB (2-1, 5-2).

Later, the Sandshark men took an 80-60 win over the Jaguars, handing coach Dip Metress’s team its first conference loss of the season.

USCB opened with a 21-7 run and never looked back on a night when AU shot 35 percent overall and only 21 percent on 3-pointers.

Charlie McBeath led the Jaguars (2-1, 6-6) with 17 points, and Luis Nonfon added 15.

Evan Kilminster had 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Sandsharks (1-2, 7-3).

Augusta will host Georgia College on Saturday, Dec. 13. Women’s game will tip at 1:30 p.m., followed by the men at 3:30.

Jaynes sets Peach Belt, AU indoor mark for the 5,000 meters

Augusta University graduate student Avery Jaynes, who made all-American in the outdoor season last spring, clocked 13 minutes and 58.81 seconds in the 5,000 meters in the BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener in Boston on Dec. 6.

Jaynes, the PBC track athlete of the year last academic year, established a new Peach Belt and AU mark for the 5K indoors.

For his efforts, Jaynes was named PBC male track athlete of the week.

AU’s Elyse Autrey (21) totaled 23 points, five assists and five steals to lead the Jaguars to a big road win over USC Beaufort at The Cove in Bluffton, S.C. At the top of the page, Layne Witherspoon received honorable mention all-American honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association. (photos by Lydia Williams/the Bell Ringer)