GREENWOOD – Despite a double-double from Kirstin Martindale and a career-high 20 digs from Nell Copeland, the Lander volleyball team dropped a 25-22, 11-25, 23-25, 22-25 decision to Augusta, Friday, at Horne Arena.
Augusta (9-4, 3-1 PBC) out hit Lander (9-2, 2-1 PBC) .231 to .110 for the match. The Jaguars also held a 55-43 advantage in assists and a 4-2 edge in aces.
“Definitely not the way we wanted to play tonight,” said head coach Ashley White. “We need to use this loss to fuel us for [our next match] and not take it in a negative way. We need to take it in a positive way, learn some things from it and be ready to bounce back on Tuesday.
Martindale finished with her second double-double of the season, adding 11 kills to her 13 digs. The Spencer, Iowa native also recorded a team-high 7.0 blocks.
Freshman Hannah Hritz recorded 17 kills on .405 hitting. Sophomore Hannah McManus finished a team-high 22 digs and nine assists, while Sophia Perkins notched her sixth double-double of the year with 21 assists and 13 digs. Copeland tacked on 13 assists to go along with her 20 digs.
Augusta was led by McKenzey Beck, who finished the night with 31 assists, 22 digs and 13 kills.
The loss was the first for the Bearcats since a four-set setback to Anderson on Sept. 8. Lander will get another look at Augusta as the two teams play again on Nov. 7.
The Bearcats take their first conference road trip on Tuesday to face Georgia College.
