PBC Tournament - #6 Lander Upends #3 Augusta State in 3-2 Thriller

AIKEN, S.C. – Sixth-seeded Lander upset third-seeded Augusta State 3-2 (25-20, 25-23, 25-27, 21-25, 15-8) in the final match of the day at the 19th Annual Peach Belt Conference Volleyball Championship at the USC Aiken Convocation Center on Friday, Nov. 13.

Lander advances to the semifinals of the 2009 PBC Volleyball Tournament where they will face off against second-seeded Armstrong Atlantic State at approximately 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14 from the Convocation Center. The match will be the second semifinal of the day with top-seeded Flagler and fourth-seeded Montevallo tangling in the first semifinal of the day at 4 p.m.

The lower-seeded Bearcats jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the match by taking a 25-20 win in the first set. The game was tied at 16-16, but Lander captured nine of the next 14 points to earn the victory in the first set.

Things flipped in the second game with the third-seeded Jaguars rushing out to an early 8-3 lead. The early Jaguar momentum forced Lander head coach Carla Decker to take a time out to try and rally her forces.

Slowly but surely, Decker’s ploy worked as the Bearcats pulled even with the Jaguars at 20-20 in the latter part of the set. The Bearcats obtained their first lead of the match since taking an early 2-0 lead in the game a few minutes later at 23-22. Lindsey Everhart punctuated the Bearcat comeback in the game with an emphatic kill at match point to give the Bearcats a 2-0 advantage with a 25-23 win in the second set.

The third set opened with the Jaguars taking an early six-point advantage at 13-7. The Augusta State advantage forced Decker into another time out with her team seemingly out of the contest. Once again, Decker’s squad responded to the challenge placed in front of them by tying the third set at 17-17. Abbey Focht earned the Bearcats their first lead since the early going of the set for the second consecutive game when she connected on a service ace that garnered Lander a 19-18 lead.

The Jaguars still looked to take the game by earning a 24-22 lead that forced Decker into yet another time out. Once again the Bearcats would not go down without a fight as they tied the contest at 24-24. The Jaguars would not let Lander grab the sweep, acquiring a 27-25 victory in the game to pull back to within one in the match at 2-1.

The Jaguars continued that momentum into the fourth set. Augusta State won game four, 25-21, with Jessica Howard putting down her 19th kill of the match at game point. Howard’s kill squared the match at an even 2-2 entering the decisive fifth set.

The Bearcats turned the tide in the opening points of the fifth set by taking a 7-2 lead that forced Augusta State mentor Sharon Bonaventure into a time out. The Jaguars would not be able to get much closer with the Bearcats holding on for a 15-8 win in the fifth and final game.

Both squads finished with a trio of players with double-digit kills. The AVCA National Player of the Week on Oct. 27, Lander’s Melissa McCracken showed why she is thought of so highly in the match by finishing her efforts with a match-high 21 kills and a team-best 22 digs. She was joined by Kendall Eayrs (17) Magi Nottingham (16) as the Bearcats with double-digit kills. Nottingham also commandeered a double-double with 13 digs to go along with her 16 kills. Candace LaRocca paced the Lander offensive attack with 56 assists.

Howard led the Jaguar attack in the loss to the Bearcats with a team-best 20 kills. Lagi Roberts and Mandy Irizarry were the other Jaguars to record double-digit kills with both finishing with 10 kills each. Five Jaguars recorded double-digit digs with Lindsey Weider leading the way with a match-high 23 digs.

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